Australia

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 looks set for an uncertain open following a mixed lead by US stocks.

ASX futures are flat, suggesting indecision among traders at the end of a volatile week. The benchmark index is coming off its largest fall in more than three weeks. The ASX 200 is 0.8% lower so far this week.

In the US, gains in shares of technology and consumer discretionary companies helped the S&P 500 snap a three-session losing streak. The benchmark index rose 0.4%, the Nasdaq Composite edged 0.1% higher, and the Dow Jones Industrial Index slipped less than 0.1%.

In commodity markets, oil plunged 3.9% to US$74.14 a barrel, while the gold spot price held largely flat a US$1914.60 per troy ounce.

Australian 2-year bond yield is 4.19% and the 10-year yield is 4%.

The Australian dollar gained a slight 0.06% to now be worth 67.60 US cents. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, edged up 0.33% to 102.40.

Asia

In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average lost 0.9% amid concerns over further Fed tightening, which were spurred by Fed Chair Powell's congressional testimony overnight.

Markets in China were closed in observance of the Dragon Boat Festival.

India's benchmark Sensex closed 0.45% lower at 63238.89, following a weak performance on Wall Street. U.S. markets declined after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell maintained his hawkish stance and said that the fight against inflation isn't over, IG market analyst Yeap Jun Rong says in a note. Decliners on the index included Bajaj Finance, which fell 2.35%, Tata Motors, down 2.05%, and Asian Paints, off 2.0%. Tata Steel was among the gainers, adding 0.7%

Malaysia's benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed 0.1% higher at 1394.67 amid bargain hunting, FSMOne research analyst Alwyn Chew Chuan Shyn says. He expects the domestic market to experience more volatility ahead of Malaysia's CPI data due Friday at 12 p.m. local time. Chew pegs the KLCI's resistance at 1420 and support at 1370. Among the session's biggest gainers were Dialog Group, up 2.4%, and Hong Leong Bank, 1.6% higher.

Meanwhile, Petronas Dagangan lost 2.5% and Genting Malaysia was 2.0% lower.

Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index closed flat at 3222.43. The STI seems to be trading sideways within a symmetrical triangle pattern, which indicates some market indecision, says IG market analyst Yeap Jun Rong in a note. Decliners included Mapletree Logistics Trust, which fell 1.8%, and Genting Singapore, which slid 1.05%. Gainers included DBS Group, which rose 1.5% and Singapore Exchange, which added 1.3%.

Europe

European stocks drop after the Bank of England increased interest rates by more than expected, sparking concerns that it has 'lost control of inflation,' analysts say. The Stoxx Europe 600 falls 0.5%, the FTSE 100 and CAC 40 backtrack 0.8% and the DAX retreats 0.2%.

The Dow sheds 0.1%. The BOE's surprise 0.5 percentage-point rise to 5% and increasingly hawkish comments suggested the MPC has entered 'full-on panic mode' and that more rate hikes are coming, Monex Europe says.

"But today's surprise will also reinforce the growing perception that the BOE has lost control of inflation, further hurting both the bank's credibility and the outlook for the economy and for sterling," Monex Europe FX market analyst Nick Rees writes.

North America

US stocks end narrowly mixed after the Bank of England raises interest rates by 50 basis points while Fed Chair Powell says the central bank is likely "within a couple of rate hikes" from its peak interest rate, since the economy is growing modestly and inflation is subsiding.

Big technology stocks outperform, lifting the Nasdaq more than other indexes. US existing-home prices post their biggest year-over-year decline in more than 11 years as rising interest rates weigh on the housing market, while jobless claims hold steady. DJIA falls 4 points to 33946, while the S&P 500 rises 0.4% to 4381 and the Nasdaq climbs nearly 1% to 13630.

Virgin Galactic's stock drops 14%, to $4.58, in after-hours trading after announcing it is raising up to $400 million through the sale of shares, but also on the same day OceanGate's submersible was reported to have imploded in the North Atlantic.

The five adventurers missing on an expedition to the Titanic were declared dead by the U.S. Cost Guard earlier on Thursday after bits of the craft were found on the ocean floor near the 1912 shipwreck. The fatal news regarding OceanGate's formerly missing submersible casts shadow over extreme tourism companies such as space-tourism group Virgin Galactic.

Canadian stocks finish lower, with the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index edging down 0.6% to 19580 and the blue-chip S&P TSX 60 Index off 0.5% to 1179.

The S&P/TSX Index sees gains in its communications sector, while the producer manufacturing sector leads the decline. Cryptocurrency mining and blockchain infrastructure company Hut 8 Mining advances 1.1% to C$3.68 after entering a hosting agreement to relocate some of its mining computers, which it says will provide it with additional installed operating capacity