Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, amid lingering concerns about the outlook for interest rates and the impact further rate hikes will have on the global economy. Trades now await comments from several US Fed officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell, as well as the central bank's Beige Book for more cues. Asian Markets closed mixed on Tuesday.
The Australian stock market is sharply lower on Wednesday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 6,800 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness across most sectors as traders digested the fourth successive 50 basis points hike in cash rate by the Reserve Bank of Australia to the highest level since 2015.
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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.