Asia-Pacific stocks set for muted open as U.S. Fed signals rate hikes in 2023

Asia-Pacific stocks set for muted open as U.S. Fed signals rate hikes in 2023

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific dipped in Thursday morning trade, as investors watch for market reaction after the U.S. In Japan, the shed 0.33% in early trade while the Topix index sat below the flatline. South Korea's declined 0.62%. The in Australia fell 0.14%. Australia's jobs data for May is set to be released at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Thursday. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.54% lower. Fed brings forward timeline for rate hikes The Fed on Wednesday brought forward the time frame on which it will next raise interest rates, with the so-called dot plot of individual member expectations pointing to two hikes in 2023. "The new Fed 'dot plot' indicating that the median FOMC member now forecasts two Fed rate hikes in 2023, versus none in the March iteration, represented the hawkish surprise out of the June Fed meeting," Ray Attrill, head of foreign exchange strategy at National Australia Bank, wrote in a note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 265.66 points overnight stateside to 34,033.67 while the S&P 500 slipped 0.54% to 4,223.70. The Nasdaq Composite shed 0.24% to 14,039.68. Currencies and oil The , which tracks the greenback against a basket of