Key Asian indexes largely declined by about 1% on Friday. In China, the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Composite edged up by 0.5% and 0.15% respectively. The Hang Seng Index lost 0.19%, the KOSPI decreased by 0.32%, the Nikkei 225 declined by 0.38%, and the S&P/ASX 200 went down by 0.81%.
Asian indexes followed their US counterparts, which declined during the previous day's session. The slump was caused by investor anxiety over the next Fed interest rate hike, which is aimed at tackling growing prices. Most experts see the interest rate rise by 75 basis points to 3.75-4%. This increase could in turn trigger an economic downturn.
Investors were also concerned about rising consumer prices in Japan. Inflation in Japan rose by 3% from a year earlier, hitting the highest level in 8 years. Inflation, which stood at 2.8% in August, is now higher than the central bank's target level of 2%.
On the Nikkei 225, Fast Retailing lost 0.9%, while Toyota Motor and Sony Group fell by 0.4% and 0.8% respectively.
On the Hang Seng Index, the worst performing stock was Shenzhou International Group Holdings, Ltd. which slumped by 6.3%.
Other stocks which suffered losses were Budweiser Brewing, Co. APAC, which decreased by 3.7%, and Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group and Li Ning Co., which declined by 3.4% each.
Shares of Sands China slid down by 3.2% after the company announced that its net loss increased by 11.6% in the previous quarter due to the lockdown in Macao, where the company operates casinos.
Other Chinese stocks increased during Friday's session, such as Alibaba Group (0.4%), JD.com, Inc. (1.4%), and Tencent Holdings, Ltd. (0.9%).
South Korean stocks on the KOSPI were mixed on Friday. Samsung Electronics added 0.9%, while Hyundai Motor declined by 1.2%.
Shares of Samsung SDI, Co. increased by 5.9% following reports that the company has finished construction of a battery manufacturing plant that will begin operations in early 2023.
On the S&P/ASX 200, BHP and Rio Tinto lost 0.7% and 0.8% respectively. Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank fell by 1.5% each, ANZ Bank decreased by 1.1%, and Westpac Banking advanced by 0.8%.
