Zhang Mengying

Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were mostly down on Thursday morning as investors were worried about an economic downturn.

Japan’s gained 0.19% by 10:27 PM ET (2:27 AM GMT). The Bank of Japan maintaining stimulatory policies has extended the slide of the yen against the dollar to a 20 year low.

South Korea’s fell 0.64%.

Australia saw a decrease of 1.07%

Index of Hong Kong fell 0.41%

China’s was down 0.42% while the fell 0.54%. Trade is expected to improve with the reopenings of major cities like Beijing and Shanghai later in today.

The 10-year Treasuries Yields rose to 3.03%

The oil price rose above $122 per barrel which sparked worries about increasing costs and tightening the monetary system.

Investors continued worrying about a potential recession caused by interest rate hikes, they now await Friday’s for more hints on the interest rate hike path.

The global economic outlook is grim, with Wednesday’s warning that there will be “hefty consequences” from the war in Ukraine, which included weaker growth, higher inflation and sustained damage to supply chains.

“Our view is that the chance of recession by the end of 2023 is 40% or so,”  Wells Fargo Securities LLC equity strategist Anna Han told Bloomberg.

An “upward surprise” from Friday’s U.S. CPI release could flatten the Treasury yield curve, Han added.

In the meantime, the European Central Bank plans to set the foundation for interest rates increases in its Thursday meeting and to announce an end of bond purchases.

China’s and data are due on Friday.