Asian stocks traded mixed on Friday, following a muted pattern on Wall Street as the latest US economic data left investors with little clarity about Federal Reserve’s plans for interest rate cuts nex week.Hong Kong’s HSI was down 63 points or 0.24% reaching 25,872. Nikkei also trimmed its gains, falling 702 points to trade at 50,326. Meanwhile, Shanghai and Shenzhen gained 0.08% and 0.39%, reaching 3,878 and 13,057 points, respectively. In South Korea, Kospi gained 0.99% gains at 9:50 AM IST, rising to 4,068 points. Recent market gains, lifted by comments from central bank officials signalling possible monetary easing, have stalled amid mixed economic signals. Payrolls firm ADP reported that over 30,000 jobs were lost in November, reinforcing signs that the US labour market is softening. Thursday’s figures on jobless claims and layoffs were slightly better than expected, yet markets remain highly confident of a rate cut at the Fed’s Wednesday meeting, with probabilities hovering around 90%. All eyes are now on the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, due later on Friday. Analysts expect that a below-forecast reading could strengthen hopes for additional rate reductions in 2026. Data on income and consumer spending is also set for release. Wall Street ended the session on a muted note, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting small gains, while the Dow slipped marginally.Back in Asia, the focus will be on RBI’s monetary policy announcement, whre the apex bank might announce a rate cut. According to a Bloomberg survey that included 44 economists, the interest rates might go down a quarter point to 5.25%.
