Stocks in Asia followed Wall Street lower after the UK and Switzerland raised interest rates, adding to fears that tighter central bank monetary policies could undermine a global economic recovery.
Japan’s benchmark Topix and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 both lost 2%, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.7%. The Chinese CSI 300, however, bucked the trend, rising 0.7%.
The falls in Asian markets came after the S&P 500 index fell more than 3%, sending the US stock index down 6% this week, while the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite fell more of 4%.
Despite a historic 0.75 percentage point rise from the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday, stocks were initially buoyed by comments from Fed Chairman Jay Powell that moves of this magnitude would not become currency. current.
But the Swiss central bank surprised markets on Thursday with its first rate hike since the 2007 global financial crisis after inflation in Switzerland hit a 14-year high last month. This was followed by a rate hike from the Bank of England, which warned that UK inflation would climb above 11% this year.
“Global silver is getting more and more expensive, and there’s still a long way to go,” said Robert Carnell, head of Asia-Pacific research at ING. “Equity futures suggest a rebound as we head into the weekend. But that should probably be treated with a pinch of salt.
Stock futures pointed to a 0.5% rise for the S&P 500 when Wall Street opens later today, while the FTSE 100 was expected to open flat.
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