Asian stocks fall as inflation continues to persist

By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were down on Tuesday morning, following a sell-off in its global counterparts. Also, concerns about rising raw material prices and the impact on economic recovery following COVID-19 continue to be raised.

Japan’s slid 3% by 9:54 PM ET (1:54 AM GMT) and South Korea’s fell 2%.

The Australian dollar was 0.73 percent lower than the policy decision due late in the day. It will deliver its decision one day later. The decision is expected to follow on Friday.

Hong Kong’s was down 0.63%.

Chinese markets will be closed for the holiday. However, the country’s property sector continues to be on investors’ radars, with Fantasia Holdings Group Co. Ltd. (HK) a $205.7 Million bond due Monday. Fantasia Holdings, the latest Chinese developer to be facing financial difficulties is due Monday. Evergrande Group (HK).

Global shares have hit pause on September’s rally, and have dropped more than 5% since then. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to begin asset tapering earlier than usual, a slowdown in the global economic recovery, and China’s regulatory tightening on the property sector have all contributed to this slowdown. The debate continues in the U.S. over whether the debt limit should be increased. President Joe Biden warned that there is a risk that the government will exceed the October legal limit.

“We think there is going to be more volatility in these markets. It’s not going to be the same sort of ‘risk-assets-always-go-up-over-time’ story that maybe happened in the rebound from COVID-19,” State Street Bloomberg interview with Emily Weis (NYSE:)

James Bullard, President of the St Louis Fed, suggested that increased price pressures may be altering consumers and businesses’ mentality by making them more comfortable with higher inflation. On Friday will be the release of the latest U.S. Jobs Report, which includes non-farm payrolls.

The cryptocurrency market was trading at around $49,000 and was trying to surpass the $50,000 mark for the first times since El Salvador made it legal tender in September 2021.