Asian stock markets fall on recession fears

Asian stock markets fell on recession fears, while China vowed to stabilize the economy. Asia-Pacific markets fell as investors tried to shake off recession fears. Wall Street suffered a second straight loss, the first since September, as concerns grew about the U.S. Federal Reserve's continued interest rate hikes. China's authorities vowed to stabilize its economy in 2023 and keep financial markets ample liquidity to meet key targets, according to a statement after the Central Economic Work Conference, which sets an annual budget last week. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.16% after the city said it would close most schools again on Monday as the number of COVID cases rose. The Shenzhen Composite fell 1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.45%. The S&P/ASX 200 was 0.11% lower after struggling for direction in Australia. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.11 percent and the Topix lost 0.67 percent. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.4 percent. The People's Bank of China is to set one- and five-year Credit Prime Rates (LPR) on Tuesday.