Daily Times

Asian markets sank Monday on growing concerns of a sharp hike in US interest rates as officials struggle to contain runaway inflation, while oil was hit by expectations Chinese demand will dry up owing to Covid lockdowns. The losses extended a sell-off across the world last week fueled by comments from Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell indicating officials will hike borrowing costs by half a point next month and possibly several times more by year’s end.

Investors have been fleeing risk assets as they become worried that the tightening — to fight inflation at more than 40-year highs — will knock the pandemic economic recovery off course and dent companies’ bottom line. With earnings season under way, a close eye is being kept on what firms say about the impact on and the outlook for business in light of inflation, forecast rate hikes, supply chain snarls and the Ukraine war.