- Prabowo set to lead bolder Indonesia on world stage
- Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- Shanghai stocks pare early surge on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines
- Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
- Former South Korea clinic for US 'comfort women' to be demolished
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- Chiefs battle past Saints to stay unbeaten
- Deal on climate aid hangs in balance at UN COP29 summit
- Royals hit back against Yankees, Tigers maul Guardians
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- Tragedy of Madrid street sweeper highlights how heatwaves kill
- Survivors wait for aid as Trump's lies help cloud Helene response
- Fleeing Israeli bombs, Lebanon's displaced met with suspicion
- Jila Mossaed, from refugee poet to Swedish Academy
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- Drugs, people smuggling at heart of Mexico's raging violence
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
- Category 5 Hurricane Milton roars towards storm-battered Florida
- Carpenter bomb stuns Guardians as Tigers level series
- Harris, Trump and Biden mark Oct. 7 attacks as US election looms
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights 'sacred' multi-front war
- Nobel scientist uncovered tiny genetic switches with big potential
- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
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Asian markets track Wall St gains, traders wary of hawkish Fed
Asian markets mostly rose Friday after a tough week dominated by the US Federal Reserve's hawkish tone that has set it on an aggressive tightening path, while oil ticked higher after another series of losses.
After a slow start, the region managed to take the lead from Wall Street, which recovered from steep intra-day losses to end on a positive note, having plunged in previous sessions as traders fretted over the prospect of higher interest rates.
While the Fed has made clear it intends to act more decisively to rein in 40-year-high inflation by ramping up borrowing costs and offloading bond holdings, analysts suggested that better clarity on policy was welcome.
The Fed's desire to tighten has sent the dollar rallying against most other major currencies, particularly the euro, which has been weighed by European officials' reticence to move as aggressively on prices. The euro is sitting around a one-month low.
Markets have come under huge pressure this year as the end of ultra-cheap central bank cash, a Covid-fuelled slowdown in China's economic activity, the war in Ukraine and soaring inflation come together in a perfect storm.
Highlighting the difficult task central banks will have in fighting inflation, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday that world food prices hit their "highest levels ever" in March as Russia's invasion of Ukraine disrupted wheat and coarse grain exports.
Still, all three indexes on Wall Street ended slightly higher, having bounced back from heavy losses thanks to bargain-buying, while some observers suggested recent selling may have gone too far.
Asia saw a tepid start but most markets enjoyed mild gains towards the end of the day.
Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Taipei, Mumbai, Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok all rose, though Singapore and Wellington were lower.
London, Paris and Frankfurt rallied in the morning, while US futures were also well up.
- Crude concerns -
Still, OANDA's Jeffrey Halley warned traders were "growing warier about China as the Shanghai lockdown drags on" owing to the fast-spreading Omicron virus variant.
"China's Covid-zero policy continues to be its Achilles heel, although there are plenty of other reasons to be a little cautious," he said in a note.
"A serious spread outside of its finance and commercial centre to other large cities will be a big headwind for China's growth, China stocks, and by default eventually, much of Asia."
Crude prices edged up having also endured a downcast week after the United States and allies pledged to release more than 200 million barrels over the coming months to offset the loss of Russian supplies.
The decision comes on top of concerns about demand from China owing to the lockdowns.
Still, there is a feeling that the war in Ukraine, and any possible further sanctions on Russia, could send the oil market higher again.
"I still think... the sentiment-driven sell-off will give way, and fundamentals will reassert themselves, especially as more market participants start fretting about how will the US administration replenish the SPR drawdown," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.
"Oil prices remain volatile amid concerns over Russian supply against the backdrop of slowing demand in China and a likely depressed US summer driving season due to higher prices at the pump."
He added that "deficits are likely to persist but only moderated by the accelerated strategic stock release from May to November and weaker demand growth".
- Key figures around 0810 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 26,985.80 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 21,872.01 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,251.85 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 1.0 percent at 7,625.18
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.1 at $100.71 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $96.26 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0858 from $1.0880 late Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3035 from $1.3071
Euro/pound: UP at 83.29 pence from 83.17 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 124.11 yen from 123.95 yen
New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 34,583.57 (close)
M.Thompson--AMWN