Asian stocks drifted lower on Tuesday, 21 February 2023, as investors weighed the prospect that central banks will have to tighten policy settings more than expected to tame inflation. Also weighing sentiments was latest geopolitical developments.
Risk sentiments across the Asian markets turned bearish as renewed worries that US Fed to go for the interest rate hike in upcoming FOMC meeting this week after the strong US economic data announced last week.
The market is now pricing U.S. interest rates to peak at 5.30% in July and remain above 5% by the end of the year, moving away from expectations of deeper rate cuts this year.
Investor focus is firmly on the release on Wednesday of the minutes of the Fed's latest meeting when it raised interest rates by 25 basis points.
U.S. President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to Kyiv ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine amid mounting concerns over China's stand on Russia and Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China of consequences should it provide material support to Russia and North Korea fired more missiles.
Australian and Japan market declined as investors reacted to weak purchasing manager index reports from Japan and Australia. Chinese shares were seeing modest gains. Hong Kong stocks edged moderately higher. Seoul stocks were little changed with a negative bias.
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