By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were mostly up on Tuesday morning, as investors weigh against potentially quicker U.S. Federal Reserve policy tightening.

Japan’s was up 0.32% by 11:47 PM ET (2:47 AM GMT) while South Korea’s rose 0.9%.

The Australian gained 0.9% with the release of the minutes from the latest meeting.

Hong Kong’s slid 2.84%.

China’s inched down 0.07% while the t inched up 0.01%.

The People’s Bank of China announced more measures to counter the economic impact of China’s latest COVID-19 outbreak. After lowering the reserve ratio for many banks, but not the interest rate, the central bank will announce its loan prime rate Wednesday.

James Bullard, President of the St. Louis Fed, stated that 75-basis point interest rate increases are possible, but not as a base case. The central bank should act quickly to reduce inflation. Charles Evans, Chicago Fed President will talk later that day and Mary Daly, San Francisco Fed President, will address the audience a day later.

Jerome Powell, Fed chairman and Christine Lagarde, president of European Central Bank will be speaking at the International Monetary Fund’s event. Andrew Bailey, Bank of England Governor, will be speaking on Friday.

U.S. Treasuries held steady after the short end decline, but they remained close to their highest level in over three years. The debate over whether inflation is at its peak persists after U.S. Prices climbed to their highest intraday level for more than 13 year and raised concerns about price increases.

Supply chain disruptions thanks to China’s COVID-19 lockdowns and the war in Ukraine continue to keep upward pressures on prices. The World Bank also cut its forecast for global economic expansion for 2022 to 3.2% due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

“Yield spikes have often spelled trouble for stocks, but we believe the past is an imperfect guide in a world shaped by supply shocks,” BlackRock (NYSE:) Investment Institute strategists, led by global chief investment strategist Wei Li, said in a note.

“We see central banks normalizing quickly – but not slamming the brakes on the economy. This should keep real yields low and underpin equity valuations.”

With Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, stating Monday that Russia had begun its campaign to seize Donbas in eastern Ukraine. Russia is continuing to send troops and material into the area.

France: In France, the incumbent Emmanuel Macron (and Marine Le Pen) will participate in a presidential election discussion before the runoff vote. 24. After the April 1st round vote, Macron currently has a slight advantage over his right-wing counterpart. 10.

On Wednesday, the Fed releases its earnings. Investors are also waiting for these earnings. American Express Co. (NYSE:), China Telecom (HK:), IBM (NYSE:), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:), Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:), and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:).