Asian markets settled down on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street’s overnight fall after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said that while inflation was approaching the US Fed's 2% goal, the Fed should not rush towards cuts in its benchmark interest rate until it is clear lower inflation will be sustained. Japanese shares led losses across Asian markets, even as a weaker yen buoyed the outlook for corporate profits. Chinese shares declined amid uncertainty over China's economic recovery. Gross domestic product grew 5.2% in October-December from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed, but slightly lower than the market expectation of a 5.3% growth.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 2,833.62 | -60.37 | -2.13 |
| Hang Seng | 15,276.90 | -589.02 | -3.86 |
| Jakarta Composite | 7,200.64 | -42.15 | -0.59 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,491.21 | -2.66 | -0.18 |
| Nikkei 225 | 35,477.75 | -141.43 | -0.40 |
| Straits Times | 3,142.22 | -42.77 | -1.36 |
| KOSPI Composite | 2,435.90 | -61.69 | -2.53 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 17,161.79 | -185.08 | -1.08 |
