- As a series of disappointing corporate earnings dampened confidence, Asian equities are expected to plunge to their lowest levels in almost a year, as US futures continued their slide. As soon as the yen dropped below a crucial level, currency dealers became nervous.
- Benchmarks in Japan and South Korea both saw declines of more than 2%, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped by more than 1.5%. The movements mirrored the slump on Wall Street, which was caused by Google parent Alphabet's dismal cloud numbers and Meta's hazy earnings outlook. Gains from the previous day were wiped by stocks in Hong Kong and mainland China as new stimulus measures calmed investors.
- The majority of the Wednesday morning's spike in Treasury rates in Asia was contained by the weak demand for the sale of five-year notes. The prior day saw a resurgence of rising oil prices, which contributed to 10-year rates returning to 5%. An additional element undermining the argument for investing in technology companies is the elevated yields. In Asian trade, Nasdaq 100 futures contracts dropped as much as 1.2%.
- A measure of the dollar's strength against other major currencies showed signs of strengthening as it approached the one-year high it reached earlier this month. As the governor of the central bank downplayed the high inflation estimates, the value of the Australian dollar declined.
- The yen surpassed 150 per dollar once more due to higher Treasury yields, raising the possibility of Tokyo's authorities intervening. According to Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, officials are closely monitoring currency movements.
