This post was originally published on this site
Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were mostly down on Thursday morning as investors were worried about an economic downturn.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.19% by 10:27 PM ET (2:27 AM GMT). With the Bank of Japan keeping stimulatory policies, the yen extended its slide to a 20-year low against the dollar.
South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.64%.
In Australia, the ASX 200 was down 1.07%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.41%
China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.42% while the Shenzhen Component fell 0.54%. China’s trade data is due later in the day, reopening of top cities Beijing and Shanghai might have offered some support to trade.
10-year Treasuries Yields advanced to 3.03%.
Oil passed $122 a barrel, stoked worries about rising costs and monetary tightening.
Investors continued worrying about a potential recession caused by interest rate hikes. They now await Friday’s U.S. consumer price index (CPI) for more hints on the interest rate hike path.
Adding to the grim global growth outlook, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned on Wednesday that the world economy will pay a “hefty price” for the war in Ukraine including weaker growth, stronger inflation, and persistent damage to supply chains.
“Our view is that the chance of recession by the end of 2023 is 40% or so,” Wells Fargo Securities LLC equity strategist Anna Han told Bloomberg.
An “upward surprise” from Friday’s U.S. CPI release could flatten the Treasury yield curve, Han added.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank is set to lay the ground for interest rate hikes in its Thursday meeting, and announce an end to bond purchases.
China’s CPI and producer price index (PPI) data are due on Friday.
