Asian Shares Retreat On Recession Fears

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks tumbled on Wednesday as hawkish Fed talk added to worries about a looming recession. Concerns over Europe's energy crisis and unfunded U.K. tax cuts also kept investors nervous.

The U.S. dollar scaled a fresh two-decade peak and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields topped 4 percent for the first time in more than a decade after Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari all said they need to keep raising rates to restore price stability.

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said that the Fed wants lower inflation but not a recession.

Chinese markets fell sharply as the yuan hit a record low versus the dollar amid waning economic growth.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index dropped 1.58 percent to 3,045.07 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index plunged 3.41 percent to 17,250.88 ahead of China's Communist Party Congress in October.

Japanese stocks lost ground to end near three-month lows, as investors fretted about the inflationary impact of the yen's recent sharp moves.

Consumer inflation excluding fresh food may rise this year, but the rate of increase will slow thereafter on energy prices, minutes from Bank of Japan's July meeting said earlier in the day.

The Nikkei average slumped 1.50 percent to 26,173.98, while the broader Topix index closed 0.95 percent lower at 1,855.15.

TDK gave up 3 percent after reports of Apple dropping plans of producing more iPhones. Heavyweights SoftBank Group, Fanuc and Fast Retailing fell 2-4 percent.

Eisai soared 17.3 percent after the company reported successful trial of its Alzheimer's drug.

Seoul stocks slumped to over a two-year low as the Korean won hit a 13-year low on recession woes. The Kospi average tumbled 2.45 percent to close at 2,169.29, the lowest since July 20, 2020.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 2.4 percent to close at a fresh 52-week low of 52,900 won. LG Energy Solutions, Hyundai Motor, Samsung SDI and LG Chem lost 2-4 percent.

Australian markets ended at fresh three-month lows even as retail sales data for August came in above expectations. The benchmark S&P ASX 200 dropped 0.53 percent to 6,462, dragged down by tech stocks and financials. The broader All Ordinaries index slipped 0.55 percent to settle at 6,659.80.

Telix Pharma plummeted 15.4 percent after its oncology unit announced that it withdrew its application for marketing authorization for Illuccix in Europe.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark NZX-50 index ended 0.85 percent lower at 11,119.57.

U.S. stocks gave up early gains to end mixed overnight as the dollar rebounded and Treasury yields surged after an initial move to the downside after the release of strong economic data.

New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods showed a modest decrease in August, while new home sales unexpectedly rose in the month and a measure of consumer confidence improved more than expected in September.

The Dow dipped 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 eased 0.2 percent to reach their lowest closing levels since late 2020 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3 percent.