Stock market today: Asian benchmarks mostly climb despite worries about US economy

Asian shares are mostly higher despite worries about the economic outlook and inflation in the U.S. and globally. Benchmarks rose in Friday trading in Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai, but fell in Sydney. Oil prices rose and the dollar edged higher against the Japanese yen. On Thursday, Wall Street retreated on worries about a potentially toxic cocktail for financial markets in which inflation remains high but the economy’s growth flags. A sharp drop for Meta Platforms, one of Wall Street’s most influential stocks, also dragged the market lower. The S&P 500 fell 0.5%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1%, and the Nasdaq gave back 0.6%.