Asian stocks declined after higher-than-anticipated US inflation data triggered a sell-off on Wall Street. Japanese stocks opened lower on Wednesday following declines on Wall Street, as the US inflation data tempered hopes for immediate interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.60%, or 227.08 points, at 37,736.89 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 1.09%, or 28.54 points, to 2,583.49. South Korea’s KOSPI dropped 1.67%, or 44.24 points, to trade at 2,605.40. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1.05%, or 80.20 points, to trade at 7,523.40.
Earlier, Wall Street’s main indexes plummeted on Tuesday after a higher-than-expected consumer inflation reading pushed back market expectations of immediate interest rate cuts, leading to higher US Treasury yields. The S&P 500 lost 68.14 points, or 1.37%, to close at 4,953.70 points, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 282.64 points, or 1.79%, to 15,659.91. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 522.05 points, or 1.36%, to 38,275.33.
