Asian shares slip after rate jitters pull Wall Street lower

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Friday, with only Shanghai gaining after the government reported inflation stayed steady at just over 2% in May, allowing more leeway for policies to boost sluggish growth.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 1.5% to 27,824.29 while the Kospi in Seoul shed 1.1% to 2,595.87. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.3% to 6,932.00. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.3%, shedding early gains, to 21,801.16.

The Shanghai Composite index added 1.4% to 3,284.83 after the government reported that consumer price inflation remained muted, at 2.1%, in May. That leaves regulators more room to adjust policy to counter a prolonged economic slowdown worsened by widespread restrictions imposed to counter outbreaks of coronavirus.

In another market-related move, the China Security Regulatory Commission issued a statement saying it has not yet evaluated and researched reviving a plan by fintech company Ant’s Group’s to conduct an initial public offering. That countered a report saying approval of the IPO was pending, but the commission said it did support share listings of “qualified platform companies" on domestic and overseas markets.

The government's quashing of Ant's earlier effort to launch an IPO came amid a broad crackdown on big technology companies that has buffeted markets, especially in Hong Kong where many such companies are traded.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 dropped 2.4% and benchmarks across the Atlantic also declined when the European Central Bank said it would raise interest rates next month for the first time in more than a decade. Another hike is set for September, possibly by double July’s increase, and the central bank will also halt its bond-buying program next month.

It's part of a growing global tide where central...