Asian stocks skid, bond yields up after hawkish Fed comments – Reuters.com

Asian stocks skid, bond yields up after hawkish Fed comments – Reuters.com

TOKYO, April 6 (Reuters) - Asian share markets slipped on Wednesday as investors faced up to the possibility of aggressive monetary tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve to fight inflation, while focus was also on new Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. Treasury yields hit multi-year highs and stock markets were red after Fed Governor Lael Brainard said overnight that she expected a combination of interest rate rises and a rapid balance sheet runoff to take U.S. monetary policy to a "more neutral position" later this year. read more

In morning trade in Asia, Japan's Nikkei (.N225) shed nearly 2.0%, while South Korean shares (.KS11) fell 0.9% and Australian shares (.AXJO) lost 0.75%.