Asian stocks struggled to make headway on Friday, as weak manufacturing activity in the United States and uncertainty about how much further interest rate cuts the Federal Reserve could make the already skeptical market climate more cautious.
Political turmoil in Hong Kong, Italy and the United Kingdom also exacerbated tensions, with investors eagerly awaiting a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Powell later at the annual meeting of the Global Central Bank in Jackson Hall.
The MSCI Mingsheng Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) index fell 0.1%, but the weekly line rose 0.6%, expected to end the four-week decline.
Nikkei index. N225 rose 0.2%, Australian stock market fell 0.1%, Korean stock market. KOSPI fell 0.3%, after Seoul said it would abolish the information sharing agreement with Japan.
"For traders, this will be another day of waiting and seeing, because Powell's speech at Jackson Hall is imminent. Investors want him to make some reassuring remarks, "said Big and General Research analyst Bi Guyang.
U.S. stocks rose and fell on Thursday, with the S& P 500. SPX closing almost flat, the Dow Jones Industrial Index. DJI rising 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Index. IXIC falling 0.4%.
In the U.S. bond market, the closely watched two-to-10-year yield curve briefly reversed overnight, which happened last week, causing financial markets to fall into chaos over fears of a sharp global economic downturn. The upside-down U.S. Treasury yield curve heralds several recessions in the past, leading to fears that the decade-long expansion of the U.S. economy may be drawing to a close.
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