Wall Street Meltdown, Asian Markets in Turmoil: Is This the End?

Asian markets are in turmoil amid U.S. inflation worries and the Wall Street downturn, impacting commodities and global rates.

Global Markets

• Asian Stock Markets: Nikkei down 0.60%, Shanghai Composite up 1.28%, Hang Seng up 0.90%, ASX down 0.75%.
• Commodities: Gold is at $2003.5 (-0.12%), Silver is at $22.07 (-0.4%), Brent Oil is at $82.15 (-0.16%), and WTI Oil is at $77.78 (-0.17%).
• Rates: U.S. 10-year yield at 4.301, U.K. 10-year yield at 4.198, Germany 10-year yield at 2.401.

News & Data

• (USD) Core CPI m/m 0.4% vs 0.3% expected.
• (USD) CPI m/m 0.3% vs 0.2% expected.
• (USD) CPI y/y 3.1% vs 2.9% expected.

Wall Street Meltdown, Asian Markets in Turmoil: Is This the End?

Markets Update

On Wednesday, most Asia-Pacific markets declined, except for Hong Kong, following a drop in Wall Street triggered by higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data. The U.S. consumer price index rose 3.1% annually and 0.3% monthly, surpassing economists’ expectations. Core prices, excluding volatile items, increased by 0.4% monthly and 3.9% annually, exceeding projections. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index bucked the trend, gaining 0.36%, while mainland Chinese markets remained closed for the week after the Lunar New Year.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 retreated by 0.67% from recent 34-year highs, with the Topix experiencing a more significant loss of 1.04%. Despite briefly surpassing 38,000 on Tuesday, the Nikkei last reached that level in 1990. Japan’s top currency diplomat expressed concern about rapid movements in the foreign exchange market. South Korea’s Kospi dropped by 1.11%, led by a nearly 2% loss in Samsung Electronics, while the smaller-cap Kosdaq gained 0.76%. The S&P/ASX 200 slid by 0.87% in Australia, marking its third consecutive day of losses.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes lost ground, with the Dow Jones falling 1.35%, the S&P 500 sliding 1.37%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropping 1.8%.

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