Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images
Hong Kong
CNN
—
Asian stock markets tumbled Friday as investors fretted that more interest rate hikes by major central banks would drag on global economic growth.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
(HSI) Index fell 1.9%, leading losses in the region. Japan’s Nikkei 225
(N225) declined 1.5%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.3%, while South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.8%.
Mainland Chinese stock markets were closed for a public holiday.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that more interest rate increases might be needed this year to bring down US inflation to the central bank’s 2% target.
“Inflation has moderated somewhat since the middle of last year,” he told US Congress in prepared remarks. “Nonetheless, inflation pressures continue to run high, and the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go.”
On Thursday, the Bank of England raised borrowing costs by half a percentage point — a sharper increase than many economists expected — after data earlier this week revealed surprisingly stubborn inflation.
On Friday, data from Japan showed that inflation excluding fresh food and energy hit a 42-year high of 4.3%, fueling speculation the Bank of Japan might rethink its monetary policy and start tightening.
“The re-acceleration of global monetary policy tightening dampened markets’ sentiment across regions,” said Ken Cheung, chief foreign exchange strategist for Asia at Mizuho Bank.
“The increasing inflation momentum will pave the way for the Bank of Japan’s inflation upgrade and the possible monetary policy tweak in the medium term.”
