Asian stock markets fall

Asia-Pacific stocks traded lower as Fed officials reiterated that more rate hikes are needed to control inflation, with investors bracing for more hikes ahead. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Wednesday that the Fed “will continue to do what we’re doing until we get the job done, and I’m committed to doing that.” The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield briefly rose above 4% overnight. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell marginally and the Topix fell 0.11%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.83%, while the Kosdaq fell 0.2%, with the country’s industrial output down 12.7% on an annual basis in January. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose marginally. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1%, while the Hang Seng Tech index fell 1.73%. In mainland China, the Shenzhen Component fell 0.37 percent, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.21 percent. Singapore is expected to release February factory activity data on Thursday afternoon. U.S. stocks fell broadly overnight, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite seeing losses, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day just above the flat line.