- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Oil extends gains, jobs report lifts Wall Street
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
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- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
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- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Oil rallies, stocks mostly retreat on Middle East tensions
- Phasing out teen smoking could save 1.2 mn lives: study
- 'Welcome relief': Asia producers hail EU deforestation law delay
- Japan PM slated to announce plans for 'happiness index'
- Turkish inflation falls less than expected in September at 49.4%
- Easing inflation lifts profit at UK supermarket Tesco
- Skiing calls on UN climate science to combat melting future
- China wine industry looks to breed climate resilience
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong drops after surge
- Dutch airline KLM unveils 'firm' cost-cutting measures
- Carpe diem: the Costa Rican women turning fish into fashion
- Senegal looks to aquaculture as fish stocks dwindle
- Will AI one day win a Nobel Prize?
- Climate change, economics muddy West's drive to curb Chinese EVs
- Argentina's Milei vetoes university budget after huge protests
- TotalEnergies plans to grow oil and gas production until 2030
- 2024 Nobels offer glimmer of hope as global crises mount
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong reverses after surge
- Tunisia readies for vote as incumbent Saied eyes victory
- High childcare costs in US weigh on women's employment
- US voters seek help with crushing childcare costs
- Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land
Asian stocks lose ground as investors eye Fed decision next week
Asian markets dropped on Friday, tracking Wall Street losses as investors continue to show concern over persistently high global inflation and the likelihood of further interest rate hikes.
Major markets in Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Mumbai and Sydney were lower, in line with overall market sentiment ahead of a decision from the US Federal Reserve next week.
Asian stocks look set to extend their weekly declines into a fifth straight week, following on from continuing weakness in US and European equities.
The Nikkei in Tokyo lost 1.1 percent at the close, as investors "found it difficult to aggressively take positions" ahead of the long weekend and the Fed's upcoming decision, Seiichi Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, told AFP.
China's factory output and retail sales beat expectations in August, new data released on Friday showed, despite the economy being hammered by Covid-related curbs, heatwaves and a deepening property market slump.
The data did little to buoy China's main stock market, however, with Shanghai closing down 2.3 percent.
Europe's main stock markets slid at the open on Friday, with London's FTSE 100 index particularly impacted by disappointing retail sales data.
Wall Street's three main indices rallied briefly on Thursday, but the gains fizzled, with traders taking little comfort from US President Joe Biden's announcement of a tentative deal to avert a potentially damaging railroad strike.
All eyes remain on the Fed, which has already instituted two consecutive 75-basis-point hikes and is widely expected to carry out a third.
On Thursday, US retail sales data showed a surprising increase in August, but the report also downgraded sales in the month prior, tempering the good news.
Weekly US jobless claims retreated once again, and industrial production fell modestly in August.
The new data was not enough, however, to offset the widespread bearish sentiment following higher-than-expected US inflation data released earlier in the week, which showed yearly inflation slowing by less than forecast and monthly inflation rising.
- Fed expectations -
Analysts expect the Fed to continue raising interest rates, in a bid to cool an overheating economy and combat inflation, which remains near decades-highs in major economies.
"Because of the dramatic rise in Treasury yields, the Fed is going to have to keep raising rates beyond (next week)," said prominent investor Louis Navellier in his podcast on Thursday.
"I think they might now raise rates in November just before the (US) midterm elections and possibly December."
Other commentators echoed that view, with OANDA's senior market analyst Edward Moya addressing the concern that further hikes could send the world's largest economy into a recession.
"The latest round of data suggest the Fed can stick to aggressive rate hikes as the labour market remains strong and as the economy slowly softens," he said.
"The risks of the Fed sending the economy into a severe recession are growing but right now the data doesn't support that argument."
Now that the data is in, markets are fully focused on the Fed's decision as their next potential pivot, said Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index.
"This is a market waiting for the next catalyst," she told Bloomberg News.
"What we saw in the selloff on Tuesday is the repricing of expectations of the Fed. Until we really hear from the Fed we are not going to get a very clear direction."
- Key figures at around 0715 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 27,567.75 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 2.3 percent at 3,126.40 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 18,769.47
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,512.88
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,256.04
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.6 percent at 12,956.66
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 6,106.82
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent to 30,961.82 points (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $0.9994 from $0.9997
Pound/dollar: DOWN $1.1422 at from $1.1472
Euro/pound: UP 87.50 pence from 87.14 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.44 yen from 143.45 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.1 percent at $91.80 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent to $85.82 per barrel
O.Hansen--CPN