China on Thursday split off a Belgium-sized island with an economy comparable to a mid-sized country from the mainland for customs processing, part of a bid to join a major trans-Pacific trade deal and establish a new Hong Kong-style commercial hub.
Most Asian stocks rose on Friday, buoyed by a rebound in technology shares from bruising losses over the past week, while markets showed limited reaction to an in-line rate hike by the Bank of Japan.
The latest data on Initial Jobless Claims has just been released, showing that the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time during the past week was 224K. This figure is in line with the forecasted number, suggesting a steady state in the U.S. job market.
U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in the year to November, but households still faced affordability challenges as the costs of basic goods and services like beef and electricity soared, posing a political problem for President Donald Trump.
OIL prices ticked down on Friday and were set to close lower for a second straight week, as rising prospects of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal offset concerns over supply disruptions from a blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers.
The European Central Bank is widely expected to keep its policy rates steady on Thursday and signal little appetite for cuts in the near term as the euro zone economy holds its ground in the face of global trade shocks and inflation remains stable.