Asian stocks tumbled on Wednesday, the U.S. dollar strengthened and bond yields surged as investors pondered the possibility of aggressive monetary tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve to fight inflation.
Rate hike worries took center stage after Fed Governor Lael Brainard signaled the U.S. central bank would take a hawkish stance to combat inflation.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.