Asian stocks tumble on US rate jitters, China GDP helps soothe losses

Investing.com-- Asian stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, tracking an overnight rout on Wall Street amid persistent concerns over geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates.

Still, the mood remained largely risk-off, especially as stronger-than-expected U.S. retail sales data spurred increased fears of sticky inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates. Wall Street indexes fell sharply on Monday, while U.S. stock index futures also fell slightly in Asian trade.at 5.3%- more than expectations for growth of 4.8%, while also picking up from the 4.8% seen in the prior quarter.

Broader Asian stocks fell sharply as sentiment remained dour. Markets were awaiting an Israeli response to a large-scale strike by Iran over the weekend- which could trigger a broader war in the Middle East.Fears of higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates were by far the biggest pain point for Asian markets.This trend saw traders aggressively price out bets that the Fed will begin cutting interest rates in June, presenting prolonged rate pressure on stock markets in the coming months.

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China's First-Quarter GDP Growth Expected at 4.6%China's first-quarter gross domestic product numbers will be in focus, with the world's second-largest economy expected to grow 4.6% from a year ago. Nikkei 225 plunged 1.5% at the open, while the broad-based Topix was down 1.04%. Overnight the yen crossed 154 against the U.S. dollar, its weakest level since June 1990. Stocks retreated on Monday as rising yields and worries over the conflict in the Middle East overshadowed strong Goldman Sachs earnings. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose above the key 4.6% level in the session, reaching its highest point since mid-November. The yen has been firmly beyond the 150 mark since the Bank of Japan raised interest rates on March 19, with Japanese officials repeatedly saying that "all options are on the table" to counter excessive yen moves.
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