Asian shares declined Thursday, echoing a retreat on Wall Street as investors fretted about higher interest rates and rising coronavirus cases in parts of...
TOKYO — Asian shares declined Thursday, echoing a retreat on Wall Street as investors fretted about higher interest rates and rising coronavirus cases in parts of the region.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 NIK lost 0.2% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO edged down 1%. South Korea’s Kospi 180721 slipped 1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng HSI dipped 1.7%, while the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP shed 0.1%. Stocks rose in Indonesia JAKIDX but declined in Singapore STI , Taiwan Y9999 and Malaysia FBMKLCI .
On Wall Street, stocks began their slide immediately after the release of several reports on the U.S. economy, including one showing manufacturing growth was stronger last month than expected. That bolstered investors’ expectations for the Federal Reserve to continue raising interest rates aggressively to slow the economy in hopes of reining in inflation.
Daily market swings have become routine on Wall Street amid worries that too-aggressive rate hikes by the Fed may force the economy into a recession. Even if it can avoid choking off the economy, higher rates put downward pressure on stocks and other investments regardless. High inflation is meanwhile eating into corporate profits, while the war in Ukraine and business-slowing, anti-COVID-19 restrictions in China have also weighed on markets.