Asian equities fell to a two-year low on Friday and were on track for a weekly loss, whereas the dollar was headed for its third week of gains as a new wave of rate hikes around the world fueled concerns about the global economic outlook.

Also Read| Oil prices surge ahead of expected US Fed interest rate hike

The BSE Sensex in India rose over 230 points on Friday. In early trading, the Sensex jumped 230.8 points or 0.43% to 53,646.95. The NSE Nifty climbed 70.30 points or 0.44% to 16,008.95.

While bets on a 100 basis point rise from the US Federal Reserve later this month fell a bit overnight as Fed officials dismissed the prospect, bond markets are still factoring in high hikes to stifle output, according to Reuters.

Also Read| US Stock Market: DJIA, S&P500, Nasdaq and Russell ended mixed on Thursday

China’s second-quarter economic statistics, which were announced on Friday, showed slower growth than anticipated and significant funding constraints in the real estate industry, with retail sales being the sole area of optimism as big cities were locked down to manage COVID-19.

Also Read| Fuel price July 15, 2022: Petrol Rs 105.31, diesel Rs 94.27 in Mumbai

MSCI’s Asia-Pacific equity index outside Japan sank 0.5% in opening trade to a two-year low, weighed down by worries over China’s housing market, where homeowner threats to stop making mortgage payments have frightened the markets.

China’s main stock index rose slightly, but a Hong Kong-listed index of mainland stocks plummeted more than 2%. The Nikkei 225 index in Japan fell 0.1%.

Also Read| Stocks that should be on your watchlist on Friday, July 15, 2022

The US dollar was trading around two-decade highs against the euro and yen, with the euro falling below $1 for the first time since 2002 this week.

The yen is rapidly approaching 140 per dollar. The euro dropped to $0.9952 overnight and is down 1.5% for the week. It was last stable at $1.0030. 

Also Read| Trending Stocks: Bharti Airtel, Torrent Power, ACC and others in news today

Overnight, Wall Street indices plummeted as JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley reported lower-than-expected results, fueling worries of a severe economic slump.

The S&P 500 closed 0.3% down, but futures were up 0.35% in Asia after Fed Governor Christopher Waller and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard poured cold water on expectations of a 100 basis point rate rise later in July.

Also Read| India’s WPI inflation eases to 15.18% in June from record high of 15.88% in May

“Markets may have gotten ahead of themselves,” Waller said at a summit in Idaho. Bullard also told Japan’s Nikkei newspaper that a 75 bp hike “has a lot of virtue to it.”

Futures indicate a 30% likelihood of a 100 basis point rise, with the benchmark US interest rate hitting about 3.6% by March next year before falling down to 3% by late 2023.