Asian Shares Retreat As Traders Pare Rate Cut Bets

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks followed Wall Street lower on Wednesday as higher-than-anticipated U.S. consumer inflation data released Friday shrank the odds of early rate cuts by the Federal Reserve before July.

The dollar climbed along with Treasury yields and gold remained depressed below the key $2,000 per ounce level while oil prices traded mixed on industry data showing a bigger-than-expected U.S. crude stock build.

Mainland Chinese markets remain closed for the week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.84 percent to 15,879.38 as traders returned to their desks after the Lunar New Year holiday.

Japanese markets fell from a 34-year high after an upsurge in Treasury yields and the yen's rapid fall past 150 against the dollar.

The Nikkei average dropped 0.69 percent to 37,703.72 while the broader Topix index settled 1.05 percent lower at 2,584.59.

Technology investor SoftBank Group and staffing agency Recruit Holdings lost 3-4 percent while chip industry heavyweight Advantest rallied 2.7 percent and Uniqlo-brand clothing store operator Fast Retailing added 1.2 percent.

Japan's top currency diplomat, Masato Kanda, said earlier today that authorities are watching recent movements in the foreign exchange market "with a high sense of urgency."

Seoul stocks fell sharply, with the Kospi average closing down 1.10 percent at 2,620.42 after three sessions of gains. Heavyweight Samsung Electronics gave up 1.6 percent.

Australian markets ended lower after Commonwealth Bank warned of downside economic risks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.74 percent to 7,547.70 - extending its losing streak to a third straight session. The broader All Ordinaries index ended down 0.73 percent at 7,790.50.

Commonwealth declined 1.7 percent after its $5 billion half-yearly cash profit fell short of market expectations.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index settled 0.67 percent lower at 11,661.32.

U.S. stocks tumbled overnight while Treasury yields spiked as hotter-than-expected inflation data for January damped hopes of early and deeper Fed rate cuts this year.

Data showed the annual rate of consumer price growth slowed to 3.1 percent in January from 3.4 percent in December. Economists had expected the pace of growth to slow to 2.9 percent.

The annual rate of core consumer price in January came in unchanged from the previous month at 3.9 percent versus expectations for a decline to 3.7 percent.

The Dow and the S&P 500 both fell around 1.4 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plummeted 1.8 percent.