Early in the Asia day the euro hit a 2-1/2 month top at $1.10. Investors reckon Europe’s central bankers will need to stay on the hawkish side for longer than their U.S. counterparts to rein in rising prices.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid 0.3%, largely pressured by a 1.5% drop in Hong Kong tech stocks in the wake of the Financial Times reporting SoftBank was selling down its Alibaba stake.
Alibaba shares were down 3% in early trade and SoftBank shares flat and neither immediately responded to Reuters enquiries.
Overnight data showed U.S. consumer prices barely rose in March. The annual 5% headline rise was the smallest since May 2021 and down from 9.1% last June. Core CPI, which strips out energy and food prices, remained sticky at an annual 5.6%.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting also showed some policymakers considered pausing hikes, before agreeing to last month’s 25 basis point rise, with…
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