After the Federal Reserve stated that U.S. inflation is too high, Asian stock markets have fallen along with Wall Street, indicating support for more aggressive interest rate hikes.
BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets fell along with Wall Street on Thursday following the Federal Reserve’s declaration that U.S. inflation is too high, which may be a sign of support for more pronounced interest rate increases.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index fell 0.7% on Wednesday, capping a three-day streak of gains, after minutes from the Fed’s board meeting on July 26-27 showed that, despite signs of slowing U.S. economic growth, members still believed inflation was “unacceptably high.”
Investors are concerned that draconian rate increases by the Fed and central banks in Europe and Asia to control inflation, which is at multi-decade highs, could stymie global economic expansion.
While other investors may see a possibility of “excessive tightening slowing growth,” the Fed notes elevated “the odds of future tightening” even if the rate of hikes slows, according to a report by Venkateswaran Lavanya of Mizuho Bank.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 0.5% to 19,821.28, the Shanghai Composite Index down 0.5% to 3,276.62, and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 0.9% to 28,967.91.
The S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney fell 0.3% to 7,109.20, while the Kospi in Seoul lost 0.4% to 2,507.31.
Singapore and Jakarta advanced while New Zealand and Bangkok sank.
The S&P 500 on Wall Street dropped to 4,274.04. The loss erased the week’s gains, and the index has been down by 0.1% since Monday as a result.
The Nasdaq fell 1.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 33,980.32. to 12,938.12.
Contrary to expectations, retail sales remained unchanged in July compared to the prior month, according to the Commerce Department. High inflation, according to retailers, will deter customers from spending money on non-essentials.
After reporting an almost 90% decline in second-quarter profits, the retail giant Target saw a 2.7% decline. Children’s Place, a retailer of children’s apparel and accessories, saw an 11% decline after declaring a surprise loss as a result of supply issues and inflationary pressure.
Stocks in the technology and communications industries also decreased.
The Fed board intends to keep raising interest rates, as stated in a letter released on Wednesday, but it made no mention of when or by how much.
The benchmark lending rate has increased by 0.75 percentage points, or quadruple its average margin, twice this year by the U.S. central bank. The Fed may decide to make another raise of the same level in September, according to forecasters, though the likelihood has decreased since recent data have shown the economy to be slowing.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange’s electronic trading platform, benchmark U.S. crude increased 8 cents to $88.19 per barrel in the energy sector. On Wednesday, it increased from $1.58 to $88.11. The benchmark price for international trade, Brent crude, increased 11 cents to $93.76 per barrel in London. The previous session saw a $1.31 increase to $93.65.
From 135.05 yen on Wednesday, the dollar marginally increased to 135.06 yen. The euro increased from $1.0169 to $1.0183.
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