A currency trader walks near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index , left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. Asian stock markets rose Thursday following Wall Street's biggest one-day decline in two months after notes from a Federal Reserve meeting showed officials expect to keep U.S. interest rates high to fight stubborn inflation.
“The need for ‘higher for longer’ rates was made plain," said Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Bank in a report. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5% to 3,276.19 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.5% to 20,323.24. Global stock prices have been declining on worries inflation that hit multi-decade highs last year might not be cooling as quickly or smoothly as traders hoped.
The Fed's key lending rate stands at 4.50% to 4.75%, up from close to zero a year ago. It has said it expects no cuts this year.