Asian markets struggle as US data dents Fed rate cut optimism

Asian markets mostly fell Friday after data pointing to a still-strong US economy raised fresh concerns about inflation and dampened optimism that the Federal Reserve will slash interest rates as much as it expected this year.The yen strengthened slightly after the release of figures showing a 2.8 percent jump in Japanese inflation, which sparked debate about whether the country's central bank will follow up this week's interest rate hike — the first in 17 years — with further raises.