EQUITIES
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Friday against a muted Wall Street looking to revive its recent market rally.
The Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.45% higher, on positive action from Tencent and Meituan shares.
The KOSPI in South Korea was down at 0.3%, and in Singapore, the FTSE Straits Times Index shed 0.75%.
Elsewhere, the Shanghai Composite, Japan’s Nikkei 225, and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia were only marginally changed from opening.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.06%, to 33,999.04, the S&P 500 gained 0.23%, to 4,283.74 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.21%, to 12,965.34.
OIL
Oil prices dipped on Friday after two days of gain, as market participants weighed worries about global economic slowdown - that could dampen fuel demand - against expectations of tighter supplies toward year-end.
While bullish U.S. weekly data bolstered optimism for improved fuel demand for the near-term, lingering recession fears and a possible increase in output by OPEC+ limits oil price's upside.
Brent crude futures fell 0.41%, to $96.18 a barrel after settling 3.14% higher on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $90.21 a barrel, down 0.20%, after a 2.71% increase in the previous session.
Still, both the benchmark contracts were still down on the week, headed for weekly losses of about 1.5%.
CURRENCIES
The U.S. dollar climbed to a fresh one-month high against a basket of major peers on Friday. The dollar index rose 0.16% to 107.663, after earlier touching 107.68, its highest since July 18. The index is on track for a 1.8% rally this week, which would be its best weekly performance since June 12.
The bond market remains on the hawkish side with two-year yields 34 basis points below the 10-year yield and flashing recession warnings.
In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 2.6% to $22,790. Ethereum was down 1.6% to $1,818.
GOLD
The rise in the dollar has been a headwind for gold, which shed 2.4% on the week so far to $1,753.00 an ounce, down 0.32%. U.S. gold futures slipped 0.28% to $1,766.20.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Asian shares struggled for direction on Friday, as investors assess how hawkish the central bank will be in its efforts to tackle inflation. Investors also will be focusing on the ongoing financial results in this reporting season to position themselves in the stock market.
Investors were still assessing Wednesday's minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting, which initially seen as supporting a less aggressive stance by the central bank. But the minutes did not clearly hint at the pace of rate increases and showed policymakers committed to raising rates to tame inflation. Traders expect a greater chance of a 50-bps rise in borrowing costs in September instead of a 75-bps increase for a third time. The Fed has lifted its benchmark interest rate by 225-bps so far this year.
Focus now could turn to the Fed's annual Jackson Hole symposium late next week. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will have a chance to update the market on his views at the annual symposium on Aug. 25-27.
On Thursday, both Goldman Sachs and Nomura downgraded their forecasts for China’s GDP growth citing weaker demand, uncertainties stemming from zero-COVID policy and an energy crunch.
