Asian stocks steadied on Friday as the Thanksgiving break in the United States pegged the dollar's relentless surge that had sucked capital out of most emerging markets.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched up 0.05 percent on Friday. It is poised to end the week 0.8 percent higher, but remains down almost 2 percent from its close on Nov. 8 before Donald Trump's surprise election to president, whose protectionist campaign promises are widely seen as negative for the region.
A Trump administration is also expected to boost fiscal spending, inflation and interest rates in the United States, triggering a dramatic surge in U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar, and in turn sending capital out of emerging market economies.
Broader emerging market stocks have also taken a hit, with the MSCI Emerging Markets index down 0.5 percent on Friday. Although the index is up 0.9 percent for the week, it remains 5.6 percent below its Nov. 8 closing price.
Wall Street was closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and trading will end early on Friday.
European markets ended on a positive note, with the Stoxx 600 index gaining 0.3 percent at the close.
Reference: Reuters
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