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Shares in Asia followed Wall Street lower after the UK and Switzerland raised interest rates, adding to concerns that tighter monetary policies from central banks could undercut a global economic recovery.
Japan’s benchmark Topix index and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 both shed 2 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.7 per cent. China’s CSI 300 bucked the trend, however, rising 0.7 per cent.
The falls in Asian markets came after the S&P 500 index fell more than 3 per cent, taking the US stock benchmark 6 per cent lower this week, while the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite fell more than 4 per cent.
Despite a historic 0.75 percentage point rate rise from the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday, shares had initially been buoyed by comments from Fed chair Jay Powell indicating moves of this magnitude would not become commonplace.
But the Swiss central bank surprised markets on Thursday with its first rate rise since the global…
