Global Market Today | Asian stocks tepid , Yen weakens after GDP data

economictimes.indiatimes.com · Feb 16, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Asian equities swung between small gains and losses as benign US inflation data supported expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year, helping steady markets after concerns about disruption from the expansion of artificial intelligence.Shares fluctuated in Japan, where gross domestic product eked out growth in the fourth quarter of 2025, reversing from a deep contraction in the previous period. The yen weakened 0.2% against the dollar. Australian shares were little changed. That started a week marked by Lunar New Year holidays, which will affect markets across the region. Mainland China will be closed all week and trading will close early in Hong Kong and Singapore. US markets are closed Monday for Presidents’ Day.Spot gold and silver — assets that have rallied alongside stocks this year — slipped in early trading. The dollar was steady against major currencies, while Bitcoin traded around $68,800 after swinging over the weekend. Oil was little changed.The moves indicated modest support for markets after the S&P 500 notched consecutive weekly declines driven by uncertainty over the disruptive impact of AI on businesses. Some of that pressure eased after data on Friday showed the US consumer price index rose 0.2% in January, the smallest gain since July, as traders priced in higher chances the Fed will ease.The inflation data lifted Treasuries on Friday, with the US 10-year and the policy-sensitive two-year yields dropping five basis points. There will be no cash trading in Treasuries on Monday. Traders continued to fully price in a Fed rate cut in July, as well as a strong likelihood of a move in June. Fed Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said the central bank can cut rates further if inflation is on track to reach its 2% target, but that’s not currently the case.“Right now we are not on a path back to 2%. We’re kind of stuck at 3%, and that’s not acceptable,” Goolsbee said Friday on Yahoo! Finance.In Asia, early attention was on Japan, where the economy reversed from a deep contraction, underscoring the case for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s proactive spending policies, following her historic election triumph.