Asian stock markets have plummeted to their lowest levels in over 15 months as America's central bank president confirmed widely predicted intentions to raise interest rates this year, starting in March.
The threat of continuous hikes in the cost of borrowing by the world's most powerful economy sent a spasm of worry through financial markets on Thursday, with investors also anxious about political tensions between Russia and Ukraine, supply chain difficulties, and rising oil prices.
The Nikkei in Japan led the way, falling more than 3 percent, while the Kospi in Seoul fell into negative territory as well. Hong Kong's stock market was down 2.5 percent, while Sydney's was down nearly 2 percent. MSCI's broad index of non-Japanese regional markets slid more than 2 percent to its lowest level since November 2020.
According to futures trade, the FTSE100 is projected to drop about 2 percent when it starts on Thursday morning, with Wall Street markets also set to suffer a significant loss.
Indian rupee drops 30 paise to 75.08 against US dollar
