SINGAPORE - Asian stocks inched lower on Friday as traders pondered the near term U.S. monetary policy path after Federal Reserve officials suggested that interest rates may need to stay higher for longer even as inflation shows early signs of easing.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was the bright spot for Asia, rising 0.77% and touching its highest since August 2023. Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week, indicating that labour market conditions remain fairly tight even as job growth is cooling.Overnight, the Dow rose as high as 40,051.05 while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also hit record highs before gradually losing steam and finishing slightly lower on the day.
Tokyo is suspected to have intervened on at least two days in late April and early May to support the yen after it tumbled to lows last seen more than three decades ago."While the weaker U.S. data should benefit low-yielders like the yen, the recent price action suggests the Japanese authorities may have more to do beyond verbal jawboning if they intend to keep speculators at bay," Standard Chartered's Chia said.