Most shares in Asia-Pacific fell sharply on Wednesday after the S&P 500 set a new 2022 low overnight on US key stock indexes. The Chinese yuan, both offshore and onshore, has reached its lowest level since 2008.
As of 9.31 a.m. Thai time, Japan’s Nikkei 225 briefly fell 2.05%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also fell 2.44%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.71%.
The Kospi in South Korea shed 2.30%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.70% lower.
Both the offshore and onshore Chinese yuan have dropped below 7.2 per dollar, their lowest levels against the greenback since early 2008, damped by the Fed’s tightening stance.
Still, markets globally were weighed down by hawkish comments from the Fed president of St. Louis and Chicago, who called for more rate hikes and another percentage point increase this year, fueling global recession fears.
