Asian markets settled lower on Tuesday, tracking falls in Wall Street shares overnight on fears of a global recession with bets that the US Federal Reserve will continue its interest rate hikes to curb inflation. Hawkish comments from former Federal Reserve official William Dudley on interest rates also weighed on market sentiments. Japanese shares led regional losses after the Bank of Japan modified its yield curve control tolerance range and holding its ultra-low benchmark interest rates steady. Further, Chinese and Hong Kong shares slumped on uncertainty over the impact of record-high daily increases in Covid-19 cases in China. While, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) kept its key lending rates unchanged for a fourth consecutive month.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,073.77 | -33.35 | -1.07 |
Hang Seng | 19,094.80 | -258.01 | -1.33 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,768.32 | -11.38 | -0.17 |
KLSE Composite | 1,467.32 | -9.77 | -0.66 |
Nikkei 225 | 26,568.03 | -669.61 | -2.46 |
Straits Times | 3,253.97 | -2.64 | -0.08 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,333.29 | -18.88 | -0.80 |
Taiwan Weighted | 14,170.03 | -263.29 | -1.82 |
