Asian Shares Mostly Lower as Markets Anticipate More Aggressive Fed Rate Hikes

Shares in Asian markets were mostly traded lower on Monday, weighed down by anticipation of more aggressive Federal Reserve interest-rate rises to cope with the worst inflation in a generation.

 

At 9.35 a.m. local time in Thailand, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.66%, while South Korea’s Kospi slid 0.27%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.08%.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.21%, and Shanghai Composite in mainland China remained near its previous closing levels.

 

On Friday, the U.S. added 528,000 jobs in July, bringing the labor market back to pre-pandemic levels. Since April 2020, the United States has added 22 million jobs. In July, the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, a half-century low and the same as it was in February 2020 before the Covid-19 outbreak hit.

Positive US job data Friday strengthened the case for further Fed monetary tightening. Treasury yields and the dollar have risen as a result. It signaled that investors anticipate a recession as the Fed applies economic brakes.