Asian stock markets were mostly higher Friday after Wall Street declined ahead of a closely watched speech by the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman.
Market benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong rose while Australian and South Korean indexes were little-changed.
Investors are looking to Jerome Powell’s speech Friday for signs of direction on interest rates after two regional Fed presidents said they see no need for a change.
Investors expect a cut in September, the Fed’s second in three months, to shore up U.S. economic growth amid a tariff war with Beijing and weakening global growth.
