Asian markets were mixed on Thursday as investors anticipated further hikes in response to comments from Federal Reserve speakers who said more rate rises would be required to contain inflation.
As of 9.32 A.M. (Thai time), the Nikkei 225 in Japan shed 0.18%. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.63% as the country’s industrial output fell 12.7% in January on an annualized basis.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China were up marginally. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.87% lower.
On Wednesday, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said, “I’m committed to doing that.” This means that the Fed will “continue doing what we’re doing until we finish the jobs.” Overnight, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries briefly surpassed 4%.
The majority of U.S. stocks closed lower overnight, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite seeing losses and the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing slightly higher than flat.
