Central Banks Shift Hawkish Stance Amid Renewed Inflation Concerns

Global markets felt pressure on Friday as investors assessed a shift toward tighter monetary policy among major central banks amid renewed inflation concerns.

The Bank of Japan's decision to raise interest rates, its highest in 31 years, was the latest move in a week dominated by monetary policy.

The BOJ raised its policy rate to 1.25%, but the Japanese yen fell sharply against the dollar, with the greenback rising about 1% to 157.54 yen.

This put the yen on track for its weakest weekly performance against the dollar in two years.