Asian stocks fell broadly on Thursday as the dollar strengthened further against major currencies, as investors increased their bets on further monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve.
Stocks fell in Australia, South Korea and China, with Chinese stocks coming under pressure from real estate developers, which partially regained their advance in the previous session. While the Japanese stocks lost their gains, which they seized at the beginning of trading, and stabilized without a new decline or rise.
This downward pressure came after US stocks fell on Wednesday, as the S&P 500 fell 0.7% and closed lower for the second day in a row. The Nasdaq 100 index, which is more sensitive to interest rate expectations, also fell by 0.9%. US futures fell on Thursday.
Have Chinese stocks hit bottom?
On the other hand, the Bloomberg Dollar Index rose to its highest levels in six months as investors increased their bets on the Federal Reserve raising interest rates again this year. Most Treasury yields with different maturities rose on Thursday, completing the rally that started on Wednesday and pushing two-year yields to more than 5%. Australian bond yields followed suit, rising on Thursday.
