Asian Shares Subdued On Recession Worries

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks were seeing modest losses on Thursday on concerns that moderating inflation in the U.S. won't be enough to prevent the Federal Reserve from hiking rates again in May.

The dollar was on the back foot and Treasury yields held in a narrow range, helping gold prices push higher. Oil prices were little changed after a two-day rally on mounting signs of tighter supplies.

WTI crude prices hit fresh 2023 highs overnight as an EIA report highlighted tightness at Cushing and strong gasoline demand.

Chinese shares recovered from an early slide to trade on a flat note.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down around 1 percent. Shares of embattled Chinese developer Sunac China Holdings plummeted 43 percent as the stock resumed trade following a suspension of more than a year.

Japan's Nikkei index was marginally lower after the latest FOMC meeting minutes suggested rising recession risks in the world's largest economy.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent, though rising crude oil prices benefited energy stocks.

South Korea's Kospi average slipped 0.1 percent and New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index was down 0.2 percent.

U.S. stocks ended lower overnight after minutes from the Federal Reserve's March 21-22 policy meeting showed that central bank officials are concerned about elevated inflation and the regional bank liquidity crisis.

U.S. inflation rate eased to 5 percent in March, the lowest rise in almost 2 years, but many economists said they still expect the Fed to raise rates by another quarter point early next month.

The Dow slipped 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 shed 0.4 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.9 percent.

European stocks closed slightly higher on Wednesday as U.S. inflation eased in March and a top IMF official warned of a 'hard landing" for the U.S. economy.

The pan-European STOXX 600 edged up 0.1 percent. The German DAX edged up 0.3 percent, France's CAC 40 finished marginally higher and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added half a percent.