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The MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index fell as much as 1,3 percent yesterday.
Benchmarks for Hong Kong and mainland stocks dropped, with a gauge of Chinese tech firms facing its worst day in about two weeks.
The selling came after Tencent Holdings pledged to dole out US$20 billion of stock in meal delivery giant Meituan.
A warning by China’s central bank of rising inflation also hurt sentiment.
Separately, Chinese regulators asked banks to report on liquidity after a bond rout. The offshore yuan fell to the lowest against the dollar since November 10.
US equity futures increased marginally, after a decline on Wednesday in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 amid indications from Federal Reserve officials that policy would tighten policy further.
Shares in Australia and Japan climbed.
A closely watched section of the US yield curve remained near levels not seen in four decades — a sign of investor concern about the world’s biggest economy.
Benchmark 10-year government bond yields in Australia and New Zealand fell. Treasury yields climbed slightly after moves on Wednesday that widened the difference between long-date and short-dated bonds to levels not seen since the early 1980s, underscoring concerns about the risk of recession.
The action Treasuries followed the biggest increase in eight months for US retail sales, outpacing estimates and indicating Fed tightening has further to run to stymie inflation.
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said a pause in rate hikes was “off the table,” and New York Fed President John Williams said the central bank should avoid incorporating financial stability risks into its considerations.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its forecast for peak US interest rates to 5,25 percent at the top of the range, up from the previous call 5 percent.
“Every time equity and bond markets are thinking the Fed is done and start taking off in a rally, the Fed gets out and starts talking that back down again,” Cheryl Smith, economist and portfolio manager for Trillium Asset Management, said on Bloomberg Television.
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude fell to the lowest level in three weeks.
Elsewhere, European Central Bank policymakers may slow down their tempo of rate hikes, with only a 50 basis-point increase next month, according to people with knowledge of the matter. – Bloomberg
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