Summary The US dollar languished near a six-month low against major peers.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian stocks sagged on Thursday, tracking declines on Wall Street after the US Federal Reserve projected higher interest rates would persist for a while.
US Treasury yields remained depressed and the curve deeply inverted as traders continued to fret that tighter policy would trigger a recession. The US dollar languished near a six-month low against major peers.
Rising Covid-19 infections and disappointing economic data in China also weighed on the mood. Crude oil shed some of Wednesday s strong gains.
Japan s Nikkei eased 0.42%, while South Korea s Kospi dropped 1.32% and Australia s stock benchmark fell 0.64%.
Hong Kong s Hang Seng (.HSI) tumbled 1.13% and mainland Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) declined 0.15%.
MSCI s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares slumped 0.94%, after climbing as high as 160.37 in the previous session for the first time since late August.
Overnight, the US S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 0.61%, although e-Mini futures pointed to a slight 0.09% bounce for Thursday s reopen.
Europe was headed for a lower open, with Dax futures indicating 0.37% weaker and FTSE futures slipping 0.09%.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the central bank would deliver more rate increases next year even as the economy slips towards a possible recession, arguing that a higher cost would be paid if the U.S. central bank does not get a firmer grip on inflation.
The comments followed the Fed s decision to raise the benchmark rate by an as-expected half a percentage point - down from recent 75 basis point increases - but projected a terminal rate above 5%, a level not seen since a steep economic downturn in 2007.
"This is a very hawkish signal from the Fed: a substantially higher terminal rate than back in September that also has a real upside risk attached to it," TD Securities analysts wrote in a research note.
"The Fed essentially acknowledged at this meeting that inflation is likely to remain stickier than initially expected, necessitating a more restrictive policy stance, which will end up pushing the U.S. economy in a recession in 2023," they added. "The weakening in risk assets and the flattening of the curve suggest that recession fears may be the dominant driver of market price action."
The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 3.49% in Tokyo trading, with the two-year yield also edging lower to 4.24%.
The spread between them widened slightly to negative 75.2 basis points. An inverted yield curve has been a reliable indicator of recessions in the past.
The dollar index - which measures the greenback against six top peers, including the euro and sterling - held close to the overnight low of 103.44, a level not seen since June 16. It last stood 0.16% stronger at 103.82.
