SYDNEY, NSW, Australia- Stocks traded lower in Asia on Wednesday. The exchange to take the biggest fall was Hong Kong, and was the hardest hit by technology stocks.
David Chao, a global market strategist for Asia Pacific ex-Japan at Invesco, told Reuters that we don't think that we are through the bear market woods yet recession risks loom, and I don't think the Fed is done with its aggressive belt-tightening.
I don't think markets have fully discounted these variables. This week's inflation data will give us more clarity on the Fed's near-term policy outlook, Chao said.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 plunged 180.63 points or 0.65 percent to 27,819. The Australian All Ordinaries fell 39.90 points or 0.55 percent to 7,238. In New Zealand, the S&P NZX 50 fell 1.39 points or 0.01 percent to 11,752. The Hang Seng was trading down more than 500 points and more than two percent in Hong Kong at the time of writing.
The U.S. dollar was comatose during Asian trading on Wednesday. The euro was trading at 1.0210 around the Sydney close. At 135.06 the Japanese yen was little changed. The Swiss franc was motionless at 0.9518.
The Canadian dollar was consolidated around 1.2881. The Australian dollar did not move from its New York close of 0.6959. The New Zealand dollar was rudderless at 0.6288.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 150.53 points or 1.19 percent to 32,774 overnight on Wall Street. The Standard and Poor's 500 was off 17.59 points o r 0.42 percent at 4,122. The Dow Jones industrials dropped by 58.13 points or 0.18 percent to 32,774.