Asian Stock Market: Remains downbeat follows US market

• Asia-pacific shares track losses on Wall Street on Wednesday.
• Rising commodity prices fuel inflationary risk.
• Most indices trade in red on risk-off sentiment.

Asian stocks edged lower on Wednesday. The losses in Asia-pacific indices could be traced back to the fall in Wall Street in the late New York session, while the US dollar moved lower to the late February levels below 90.0.

The speculation of inflationary pressure amid rising commodity prices spooked investors as they reduced their exposure to the riskier assets.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged lower 0.3%. Hong Kong and South Korea are closed for holiday.

Japan’s Nikkei retreated 1.1%, Australia’s S&P/ ASX 200 index lost 1.9%, and China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 0.5%.

Risk of rising coronavirus infections and extended lockdowns in several major economics in the continent raises doubts over the economic recovery, while commodity prices are rising amid supply chain disruptions

Investors are now waiting for the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s April policy meeting to gauge the market sentiment. Any hint of tapering measures could dampen the market sentiments further.