Asian equities and currencies fell on Thursday as hawkish comments from the US Federal Reserve sparked a selloff in the region, while the COVID-19 lockdowns in China also weighed on sentiment.
South Korean shares fell over 1%, while stocks in Singapore shed 0.6% to hit a two-week low. Equities in the Philippines and Malaysia also traded down.
Minutes of the Fed's meeting on March 15-16 released overnight showed deepening concerns among policymakers that inflation had broadened through the economy.
"The Fed's tightening and the balance sheet reductions are likely to be headwinds for Asian equities this year but we are looking out for the upcoming earnings season in the US to see if there are any signs of weakness," said Alvin Tan, Head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets.
Investors were also concerned about the situation in China, which is struggling to quell a rise in COVID-19 infections.
Shanghai, which is under a city-wide lockdown, reported over 19,000 new cases on April 6, although the vast majority was asymptomatic. China's stocks fell nearly 1%.
"Besides oil and Fed's meeting, regional markets are also looking out for some policy support from China amid a rise in infections and the dismal services data from the day before," Tan said.
Inflationary pressures due to global supply snags, made worse by the Ukraine crisis, have compelled some Asian central banks to shake off their long-held reluctance to follow their global peers to hike interest rates.
The Philippines central bank said it would more closely watch inflation expectations, a change of stance compared to its previous more passive approach.
Most Asian stocks rise as bonds retreat on hawkish Fed
Taiwan's central bank also raised rates in March while Singapore has already commenced its shift away from pandemic era monetary stimulus last year to counter growing inflation.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore in a meeting next week is likely to tighten its policy setting for the third time in a row to combat inflationary pressures, while the Reserve Bank of India on Friday is expected to wait until at least August to begin hiking rates, according to separate Reuters polls.
Currencies in the region also came under pressure as the likelihood of aggressive policy tightening in the US sent the dollar to a near two-year high.
The Thai baht and the Indian rupee led losses in the region, shedding 0.2% each while the Philippine peso and the Malaysian ringgit also edged lower.
Oil prices rose on Thursday having fallen to a three-week low overnight after consuming nations said they would release oil from emergency reserves to make up for the supply glut caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
In the bond market, yields on Indonesia's benchmark bonds rose to 6.789%, while Singapore's 10-year bond fell 1.4 basis points to 2.489%.
Highlights:
** Real estate firm Mapletree Logistics Trust slips 2.1% to leads losses on the benchmark Singapore index followed by SATS Ltd, trading 1.4% lower
** China to 'steadily control' exports of some high carbon petrochemical products
** Thailand stocks hit lowest since March 28
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