Asian markets mostly rose Thursday following broad losses the previous two days but they struggled to maintain early momentum as analysts warned caution was prevailing on geopolitical worries and fading hopes for Donald Trump's stimulus drive.

Oil-exporting cartel OPEC is confident that production cuts agreed with non-members to prop up prices will lead to a recovery in the market, its chief said on Wednesday.

"We are optimistic that the policy measures we have taken already place us on the path of recovery," OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo said at an energy forum in Abu Dhabi.

In its 70-year history, the International Monetary Fund has been no stranger to financial crises and policy disputes but now faces a new challenge: a US administration fundamentally opposed to some of its most important positions.

With the Fund's 189 members due to stage a semi-annual meeting in Washington this week, there has been no shortage of divergences with the White House.

President Donald Trump wants to retool the fabled H-1B visas for skilled workers sought by Silicon Valley heavyweights, a White House official said Monday.

The U.S. and Japan on Tuesday launched economic talks that Vice President Mike Pence said could result in a bilateral trade deal, perhaps salvaging some elements of a now-abandoned trans-Pacific trade pact.

European stock markets slid Tuesday with political uncertainty dominating as Britain called a snap general election and France's presidential race tightened.

Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya has been arrested in London on an extradition request from India, where he is accused of fraud, British police said on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia wants 10 percent of its electricity to come from renewable sources within several years as part of a transformation in its power sector, the energy minister said Monday.

Wall Street stocks advanced early Monday ahead of a heavy week of corporate earnings including major companies such as Bank of America, Netflix, General Electric and others.

Companies in the S&P 500 are expected to report 9.2 percent growth in first-quarter earnings, according to FactSet. 

Turkish stocks and the lira strengthened on Monday after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan narrowly won a referendum on expanding his powers, with investors hoping the outcome would bring much-needed stability.

On Sunday, the 'Yes' side won 51.41 percent of the vote compared with 48.59 for the 'No', near full results showed.