Benchmark indexes traded lower at the open in Japan and Australia. Futures for equities in Hong Kong slipped and contracts for US stocks were flat in Asia trading Wednesday after the S&P 500 closed down though off session lows.
Australian and New Zealand bond yields ticked higher, mirroring the moves in both the five- and 10-year Treasury yields which hit the highest levels since 2007 on Tuesday. Treasuries steadied during Asian trading, as did the dollar. Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues are widely expected to hold rates Wednesday. Still, supply shocks such as climbing oil prices present the central bank with a quandary as they simultaneously boost inflation and curb economic growth. Surging energy costs played a role in tipping the US into recession in the mid-1970s, as well as the early 1980s and 1990s.
In Asia, China’s commercial banks are likely to lower prime rates on short-term loans for a second month in a row, while holding five-year rates steady, according to Eric Zhu at Bloomberg Economics. On the five-year benchmark, “other moves to support the housing market, including a recent expansion of first-home buyer benefits, make cutting the home loan benchmark less urgent,” Zhu wrote in a note.
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