Asian stocks dropped in Asian market opening trades today, in the wake of another plunge on Wall Street as the prospect of higher interest rates and turmoil in Europe stoked fears of global recession. Shares fell in Japan, Australia and South Korea after the S&P 500 slid more than 2% to the lowest since November 2020. An MSCI Asia-Pacific equity gauge was on course for its seventh straight weekly loss, the longest streak since September 2015. Chinese shares gave up early gains ahead of a week-long holiday and after factory activity showed mild growth. US Treasury yields were little changed after days of being whipsawed on the back of a debt crisis gripping the UK. The Volatility Index has been well over 30 for almost all of this week, reflecting heightened worry among equity investors. Another group of Federal Reserve officials struck a hawkish tone, German inflation topped 10%, and the UK government’s tax plan continued to weigh on market sentiment. In currencies today, the Japanese yen decreased 0.1% to 144.59 per dollar, the euro rose 0.08% to $0.9805 while the pound was down by 0.08% at $1.1105. The offshore yuan fell 0.2% to 7.1114 per dollar The Indian Rupee opened stronger with a huge gap of 24 paise at 81.62/63 against its previous session’s close of 81.86/87 and is expected to trade between 81.40 – 81.80 band today.
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