Asian stocks, U.S. futures regain footing after Fed rate shock

Asian stocks, U.S. futures regain footing after Fed rate shock

Asian stocks recovered some of their steep losses from the previous session on Friday after U.S. markets limited further declines from hawkish U.S. Fed comments, supported by a firm economy and strong earnings at Apple Inc .

U.S. stock futures rose in Asia with Nasdaq 100 e-minis up 1.2% and S&P 500 e-minis up 0.8% after Apple on Thursday reported record sales in the holiday quarter, beating estimates. Apple shares rose over 5% in after-hours trading.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2% after sliding 2.26% on Thursday. The index is still down 5.1% so far this month.

Australian shares were up 1.16%, while Japan's Nikkei stock index rose 1.49%.

Elsewhere in Asia, China equities rose on Friday with China's blue-chip CSI300 index 0.24% higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.41%.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks retreated after a solid opening, as investors juggled positive economic news with mixed corporate earnings, geopolitical unrest and the prospect of a more hawkish Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.02%, the S&P 500 lost 0.54% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.4%.

U.S. markets had opened higher after the Commerce Department's advance take on fourth-quarter GDP showed the U.S. economy in 2021 grew