Asian Shares Retreat As Fed Warns Of Inflation Risks

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks declined on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve warned it would be cautious about more interest cuts in the face of inflation concerns.

U.S. Treasury yields jumped and the dollar rose to its highest level in more than two years as the Fed's hawkish outlook raised concerns about tighter monetary conditions. Analysts have warned that policies proposed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, including plans for tax cuts and widespread import tariffs, could put upward pressure on prices and keep interest rates higher for longer.

Gold rebounded from the lowest level in a month in Asian trade while oil prices fell on demand concerns.

China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.36 percent to 3,370.03 amid trade tensions as TP-Link routers faced a potential U.S. ban over cybersecurity risks.

Also, China issued rules today to tighten scrutiny of foreign accounting firms' domestic operations as part of efforts to rein in accounting failures and fraud.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index recouped some early losses to finish 0.56 percent higher at 19,752.51.

Japanese markets ended off their day's lows, the yen weakened and government bonds showed little reaction following Bank of Japan's decision to refrain from raising interest rates. The Nikkei average ended down 0.69 percent at 38,813.58 while the broader Topix index settled 0.22 percent lower at $2,713.83.

Chip-related stocks led losses, with Advantest and Tokyo Electron falling 0.8 percent and 1.4 percent. Artificial intelligence-focused startup investor SoftBank Group lost 4.3 percent after U.S. memory chip giant Micron Technology issued weaker-than-expected guidance for the current quarter.

Financials rose, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial climbing 1-2 percent.

Seoul stocks plunged, with the Kospi average falling 1.95 percent to 2,435.93, dragged down by heavyweight technology stocks. Samsung Electronics tumbled 3.3 percent and SK Hynix slumped 4.6 percent.

Australian markets fell sharply, dragged down by banks and commodity-related stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.70 percent to 8,168.20 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed 1.68 percent lower at 8,415.

Woodside Energy declined 1.9 percent after it entered a deal with oil behemoth Chevron to swap stakes in several energy projects.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index dipped 0.87 percent to 12,754.15 as data showed New Zealand's economy sank into recession in the third quarter.

U.S. stocks succumbed to heavy selling pressure overnight after the Fed delivered a 25-bps rate cut as expected but revised its projections to signal just two interest rate cuts next year compared to the four previously forecast, citing stubbornly high inflation.

The Dow plummeted 2.6 percent to extend its losing streak to ten straight sessions and hit its lowest closing level in over a month.

The S&P 500 slumped 3 percent to a one-month closing low and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged 3.6 percent.