SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific mostly slipped on Friday, as China did not lower interest ratesAnalysts expected to see more stimulus.

Investor focus shifted to Chinese stocks with most major markets closed during Good Friday.

Stocks on the mainland have been in decline for much of this week as China battles the most severe Covid epidemic since the outbreak of the pandemic. Shanghai is still under lockdown.

They rebounded a little on ThursdayAlthough there are hopes for some relief from the government’s hand, stock markets on Friday were down in early trade.

Shanghai Composite was down 0.2% and Shenzhen component fell 1.08%.

Shane Oliver of AMP, the head for investment strategy and chief economist said that Chinese shares were still under pressure due to concerns over covid lockdowns.

He stated in a Friday early note that China continues to struggle to manage the Omicron wave, leading to lockdowns as a result of its zero covid’ policy (though it is looking to adjust some parts of its approach), threatening Chinese economic growth and contributing further disruptions to global supply chains.

Investors were hopeful for additional policy support but China on Friday resisted lowering rates despite their best efforts. The People Bank of China left medium-term rates unchangedThis is despite the expectation for greater stimulus due to the Covid-induced slowdown.

It’s not surprising, given China’s economic woes and recent requests for monetary aid from the Chinese leadership. This demonstrates the unwillingness of the central banks to ease their policy. We believe it will be forced to act sooner than expected,” stated Julian Evans-Pritchard (Capital Economics senior China economist).

For Good Friday, Hong Kong markets will be closed as well as Australia, Singapore, India, New Zealand and Australia.

According to Reuters, China’s home prices data showed that the new country’s residential prices stalled for the second consecutive month of March. The pace of growth was the slowest since November 2015, at 1.5%.

Japan is a market leader in other countries. Nikkei 225It was down by 0.26% while Topix fell by 0.64%. Tech shares recovered some of their earlier losses. SoftBank GroupIt is down by more than 1% SonyTossing 2.65%

South Korea KospiIt was also lower by 0.58%.

U.S. stocks fell ThursdayInvestors digest mixed earnings results from the major banks as well rising inflation, which capped a poor week.

The S&P 500 fell 1.21% to 4,392.59, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.14% to 13,351.08. Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 113.36 Points, or 0.33%, from 34,451.23.

This week, inflation was the main topic. U.S. Treasury yields increased as inflation reports revealed sharply rising prices. Expectations of a Fed tightening were high. The benchmark was set on Thursday 10-year U.S. Treasury yieldIt rose to highs of multiyears. The index climbed 13 basis point to reach 2.8%.

Franziska Palmas from Capital Economics stated that she believes there’s potential for the 10-year Treasury to increase even more over the next twelve-months or so. However, a peak will likely only come about the middle of next Year.

The 10-year Treasury yield over eight Fed tightening cycles, since 1970s, was analyzed by She said that this suggests that the current selloff may have more to go.

The U.S. dollar indexIt tracks the greenback’s performance against the basket of its peers at 100.478. The index has regained strength and is now above the 100 mark.

The Japanese yenThe dollar was trading at 126.35 dollars, and the currency is continuing to fall. The Australian dollarThe price of the stock continued to drop and it was currently trading at $0.7403.