Diplomatic efforts are continuing to defuse the Ukraine situation. While U.S. officials have warned a Russian invasion of Ukraine may be imminent, Moscow has repeatedly denied that one is planned. Before the crisis flared, markets were already nervous over high inflation and the withdrawal of Fed stimulus.
SGX Nifty up 0.47% at 16,952 in early deals
Asia shares slip; investors asses Ukraine crisis, Fed’s move
Asian stocks fell on Tuesday as traders assessed geopolitical risks, worries about Federal Reserve policy tightening and steps by China’s central bank to support growth.
Shares fluctuated in China, where the monetary authority injected a net 100 billion yuan ($15.7 billion) into the banking system with its medium-term lending facility. Equities wavered in Hong Kong and retreated in Japan.
Gyrations over Ukraine took a twist Monday, when its President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wobbled markets with what his office later said was a sarcastic comment about the rest of the world predicting a Russian attack on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Fed officials came out with another round of views on the policy outlook. Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the monetary authority needs to move forward its plans to raise rates to underline its inflation-fighting credibility.
Japan’s Topix index fell 0.4%, while the benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.2%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.5%, South Korea’s Kospi was flat, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.1%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.1%.
Overnight, on the Wall Street, losses were modest, with indices recovering from a sharp sell-off after US announced plans to close its Kyiv embassy in Ukraine and sent simmering geopolitical tensions to a boil. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 171.89 points, or 0.49%, to 34,566.17; the S&P 500 lost 16.97 points, or 0.38%, at 4,401.67; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.24 points to 13,790.92.
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