New Zealand’s central bank raised interest rates by 50 basis points to a more than 14-year high of 4.75 percent on Wednesday.
The central bank said it expected to keep tightening further to ensure inflation returned to its target range over the medium term. The Bank of Japan said on Wednesday it would conduct emergency bond buying, in a move to contain elevated yields, as the 10-year JGBs touched 0.505 percent for a second straight session, breaching the BOJ’s 0.5 percent cap and reaching the highest level since Jan. 18.
Japan’s Nikkei share index fell 1.25 percent on Wednesday following a Tuesday PMI report showing the factory sector had contracted.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index lost 0.25 percent in early trading, falling for a second straight session and touching its lowest in more than a month on expectations of interest rate rises.
U.S. 10-year notes touched 3.966 percent, the highest since November, before easing to yield 3.9389 percent on Wednesday.The dollar index fell 0.077 percent, but analyst expect interest rate rises to lift the dollar, hurting emerging market equities, which benefited from a falling dollar.Spot gold added 0.1 percent to reach $1,836.18 an ounce.Subscribe to our daily newsletter