Most Asian markets up as traders weigh China hope, recession fear

Business Desk :
Asian markets mostly ticked higher Friday after a rocky week that saw recession fears return to the fore, offsetting growing hope that China’s emergence from zero-Covid will help boost the struggling global economy.
While falling US inflation has fanned speculation the Federal Reserve will further slow its pace of interest rate hikes, several top bank officials have lined up to warn that still more needs to be done before they are satisfied prices are under control.
Vice Chair Lael Brainard on Thursday said policymakers would “stay the course” in lifting rates, adding they would need to “be sufficiently restrictive for some time”.
And New York Fed chief John Williams foresaw further increases to get inflation back to two percent, from its current 6.5 percent. Meanwhile, a series of weak indicators suggesting the economy continues to slow have rattled nerves as traders shift their view from “bad news is good news” — as it allows the Fed to slow its rate hikes — to “bad news is bad news”.