TOKYO : Asian stocks slipped in volatile trade on Wednesday, failing to extend Wall Street's rally as persistent worries about interest rates and inflation remained a key focus for investors, while the Japanese yen hit a fresh 24-year low against the dollar.
The main U.S. share benchmarks rose 2 per cent overnight on the possibility the economic outlook might not be as dire as thought during trade last week when the S&P 500 logged its biggest weekly percentage decline since March 2020. In a sign Wall Street may not be able to repeat Tuesday's rally, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures both fell over 0.5 per cent.
Most other global central banks are in a similar situation, apart from the Bank of Japan, which last week pledged to maintain its policy of ultra-low interest rates.