- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
Asian markets drop on Fed rate fears as US inflation rages
Asian markets sank Friday after a sell-off on Wall Street in response to a forecast-busting jump in US inflation that fanned expectations the Federal Reserve will embark on a more aggressive campaign of monetary tightening.
The 7.5 percent jump in prices last month was the fastest in 40 years and reinforced fears that the central bank is falling behind the curve in keeping it under control, which has fed a sense of uncertainty across trading floors.
US stocks immediately sank on the news but managed to claw their way back as the day progressed before being hit by Fed official James Bullard, who said he wanted to see interest rates lifted one percentage point by the start of July.
The St Louis Fed boss said he was in favour of a 50 basis point lift next month -- double the usual rise and the first since 2000 -- and two more after that.
"I'd like to see 100 basis points in the bag by July 1," Bullard, who has a vote on policy this year, told Bloomberg News. "I was already more hawkish but I have pulled up dramatically what I think the committee should do."
He added: "I do not think it is shock and awe.
"I think it is a sensible response to a surprise inflationary shock that we got during 2021 that we did not expect."
Bullard also said he was open to a very rare announcement of rate hikes between meetings, which further rattled traders, while calling for the quick reduction of the bank's bond holdings that have helped keep rates subdued.
"What began as 'just another ripper inflation print' quickly turned into panic of an emergency hike from the Fed," said Matt Simpson of StoneX Financial.
"As exciting as that is, we think an inter-meeting hike is an outside chance. But that is no reason for traders to not prepare for it, as it is these lower probability events which can spark the biggest moves."
Markets have for months been hit by speculation about the Fed's plans for monetary policy, having made an about-turn at the end of the year on its view that inflation would be temporary and subside as the global economy reopened.
All three main indexes in New York ended sharply lower with tech firms -- which are susceptible to higher rates -- among the worst hit. The Nasdaq dived more than two percent.
Asia, which has enjoyed a broadly upbeat week, was also largely down.
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Wellington, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta all fell into the red, though Singapore inched up. Tokyo was closed for a holiday.
The dollar also rallied, breaking through 116 yen.
"We don't think the market has priced the full extent of what we feel the Fed has to do going forward," Elena Hernandez, at GenTrust LLC, told Bloomberg Television.
"Bullard's comments today were a big shock and surprise, especially talking about a potential inter-meeting movement. We expect rates to continue to sell off."
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 24,816.41
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,483.10
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday
Dollar/yen: UP at 116.02 yen from 115.99 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3552 from $1.3562
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1404 from $1.1434 late Thursday
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.15 pence from 84.25 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4 percent at $89.55 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $90.95 per barrel
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.5 percent at 35,241.59 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,672.40 (close)
L.Mesquita--PC