BSS :
Asian equities mostly rose Friday as a drop in oil prices to pre-Ukraine war levels stirred hopes of a slowdown in inflation and central bank interest rate hikes, while focus turns to key US jobs data later in the day.
However, while markets have enjoyed a broadly positive week, optimism remains at a premium as traders fret over issues including the conflict in Eastern Europe, China’s military drills around Taiwan and a possible global recession.
Crude edged up but expectations that economies will contract — dampening demand — have sent the commodity tumbling more than 10 percent this week, with US data indicating Americans were driving less now than in summer 2020 at the height of the pandemic.
