Asian stocks were poised to follow Wall Street lower on Wednesday as the cost of the U.S. stimulus and infrastructure plans and new pandemic curbs limited investors' risk appetite.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures fell 0.2per cent. In Japan, Nikkei futures were 0.6per cent lower. Australian futures traded either side of unchanged.On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 308.05 points, or 0.94per cent, to 32,423.15, the S&P 500 lost 30.07 points, or 0.76per cent, to 3,910.52 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 149.85 points, or 1.12per cent, to 13,227.70.
Powell downplayed the risk of inflation. Yellen said the U.S. economy remains at risk as she fielded lawmakers' questions about possible infrastructure and tax increase plans under consideration.Crude oil futures tumbled more than 6per cent due to demand concerns amid a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.