Asian stocks follow Wall St down as rate hike worries grow

By JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writer

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks have followed Wall Street lower as fears spread that U.S. interest rate hikes to fight inflation might stall economic growth. Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney declined. Tokyo edged higher as trading resumed after a holiday. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index plunged 3.6% as optimism that drove the previous day’s rally evaporated. Investors worry about whether the Federal Reserve, which raised its key interest rate by a half percentage point on Wednesday, can cool inflation without tipping the slowing U.S. economy into recession. Traders were temporarily encouraged by chairman Jerome Powell’s comment that the Fed wasn’t considering even bigger increases.