- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- 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
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
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Asian markets mixed as easing Fed fears tempered by China Covid
Asian markets were mixed Friday at the end of a week that has seen hopes the Federal Reserve will tone down its monetary tightening campaign offset by fresh lockdown fears as Covid-19 cases surge in China.
With Wall Street closed for the Thanksgiving break, trading was light with few catalysts to drive action on trading floors and investors now looking ahead to the release of US jobs data next week.
The mood across markets has picked up this month as a series of indicators suggested the world's top economy was showing signs of weakness after the Fed ramped up interest rates.
The standout reports were consumer and wholesale inflation, which came in much lower than forecast and provided the central bank with room to row back on its hawkishness.
And while a selection of Fed officials lined up to warn there was more tightening to come, there is an expectation that the days of bumper 75-basis-point increases are gone.
That has slightly eased worries that the sharp rise in borrowing costs could tip the US economy into recession, though many observers still see a contraction coming.
Asian equities struggled to end the week on a positive note, however, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Manila and Jakarta all down. There were gains in Shanghai, Sydney, Wellington and Taipei.
Regional sentiment was being sapped by ongoing fears about the spike in Covid cases in China, which authorities are trying to contain with a series of targeted measures in big cities including Beijing and Shanghai, though they are short of full-on lockdowns.
Still, SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes said there appeared to be less concern about the government's reaction as it looks to ease parts of its strict Covid-zero strategy.
"Investors are recognising it's normal for cases to increase as the Chinese economy begins its long and winding road to normalcy," he said in a commentary.
"So stock and currency market investors are tentatively looking through the current lockdown regime while betting on the more optimistic interpretation that China is hitting the limits of 'Covid-zero' and the authorities' efforts to loosen restrictions will continue."
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 28,286.94 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.3 percent at 17,435.15
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,097.12
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0415 from $1.0411 on Thursday
Dollar/yen: UP at 138.75 yen from 138.39 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2100 from $1.2131
Euro/pound: UP at 86.02 pence from 85.82 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $78.26 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.1 percent at $85.46 per barrel
New York - Dow: Closed for a holiday
London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,466.60 (close)
Y.Ponomarenko--CPN