Asian stocks follow Wall Street down as rate hike worries grow

Asian stocks followed Wall Street lower Friday as fears spread that US interest rate hikes to fight inflation might stall economic growth.

Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney declined. Tokyo edged higher as trading resumed after a holiday.

Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index plunged 3.6% on Thursday for its biggest one-day loss in two years as optimism that drove the previous day’s rally evaporated.

Investors worry about whether the Federal Reserve, which raised its key interest rate by a half percentage point on Wednesday, can cool inflation without tipping the slowing US economy into recession. Traders were temporarily encouraged by chairman Jerome Powell’s comment that the Fed wasn’t considering even bigger increases.

“Clearly, investors had second thoughts about the so-called ‘dovish hike’ from the Fed,” Rob Carnell of ING said in a report. The likelihood is “rate hikes coming thick and fast, but little if any prospect of a turn in inflation any time soon.”

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.6% to 3,019.11 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng plunged 3.6% to 20,051.61. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo added 0.9% to 27,053.81.

The Kospi in Seoul tumbled 1.3% to 2,642.26 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 lurched down 2.3% to 7,197.40. New Zealand and Singapore also declined.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine, high oil prices and global supply chain disruptions are adding to investor unease.

Also Thursday, the Bank of England raised its benchmark rate to the highest level in 13 years, its fourth hike since December to cool British inflation that is running at 30-year highs.

The S&P 500 fell 3.6% to 4,146.87, giving back Wednesday’s 3% increase.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 3.1% to 32,997.97. The Nasdaq, dominated by tech stocks, slumped 5% to 12,317.69.

The dollar rose to 130.47 yen from Thursday’s 130.40 yen. The euro gained to $1.0539 from $1.0519.