Tokyo: After Wall Street fell on concerns about the stability of US banks under pressure from interest rate hikes, Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday.

While Sydney and Hong Kong improved, Shanghai declined. Due to holidays, markets in South Korea and Japan were closed. Oil cost increased.

Following three high-profile failures in the United States and one in Switzerland, investors became concerned about the health of banks, resulting in a 0.7% decline in the benchmark S&P 500 index on Wall Street on Thursday.

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Investor scrutiny was focused on PacWest Bancorp, whose shares fell 50.6%. The bank stated that it was looking at its options and that prospective partners and investors had contacted it.

Investors are keeping an eye on any actions that the government might take to "limit further contagion risks," according to a report by Yeap Jun Rong of IG. "Any inaction over the weekend could result in a risk environment that is more pessimistic to begin next week,"

While the Hong Kong Hang Seng rose 0.5% to 20,056.21, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8% to 3,322.52. The S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney increased 0.3% to 7,216.20.

The Sensex in India opened 0.4% lower at 61,529.24. The markets in New Zealand and Southeast Asia shrank.

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The S&P 500 on Wall Street dropped to 4,061.22. The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a 0.9% decline to 33,127.74, ending the year in the red. To 11,966.40, the Nasdaq composite decreased 0.5%.

Banks are under pressure as a result of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates and other central banks in Europe and Asia doing the same. Investors are concerned that money could be withheld from lenders who are thought to be in trouble, increasing their financial strain.

Western Alliance Bancorp's stock fell as much as 61% after The Financial Times reported that the bank, based in Phoenix, was thinking about selling its operations. The business refuted the allegations. Its stock dropped 38.5% at day's end.

Regulators seized First Republic Bank this week and sold the majority of the company to JPMorgan Chase. The banking system is safe and sound, according to officials, but investors are still uneasy.

The Federal Reserve announced another increase on Wednesday, bringing its benchmark overnight rate from nearly zero at the beginning of last year to a range of 5% to 5.25%.

This year, traders anticipate at least a brief U.S. recession. They anticipate that the Fed will begin lowering interest rates in the second half of the year to support economic growth, despite Jerome Powell, the chair, saying this week that he doesn't anticipate cuts happening so soon.

Investors are concerned that the industry turmoil may cause smaller institutions to cut back on lending even in the absence of additional bank failures. This could raise borrowing costs and further restrain economic growth.

A report released on Thursday revealed that more Americans than anticipated filed for unemployment benefits last week. One of the main pillars supporting the sagging economy is a robust job market.

On Friday, a more thorough government report on employment is expected. The Fed hinted on Wednesday that rate hikes might be coming to an end for the time being, but Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, declared on Thursday that "we are not pausing." Another rate increase by the ECB was announced, but it was only by a quarter of a percentage point.

Despite all the concerns, an overall better-than-expected earnings reporting season has helped to support stocks.

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S&P 500 companies are still on track to report a second consecutive quarter of declining profits, but overall, the outcomes have been better than anticipated.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange's electronic trading platform, benchmark U.S. crude increased by 60 cents to $69.16 per barrel in the energy sector. On Thursday, the contract dropped 4 cents to $68.56. The benchmark price for international oil trade, Brent crude, increased 68 cents to $73.18 per barrel in London. The previous session saw a 17 cent increase to $72.50.

The dollar dropped from 134.14 yen on Thursday to 133.93 yen today. From $1.1016 to $1.1041 the euro increased.