Asian shares fall on Fed worries after Wall Street sell-off

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly lower Tuesday, echoing a broad sell-off on Wall Street amid speculation about another interest rate raise from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Benchmarks in Asia slid in Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul and Hong Kong, but shares were little changed in Shanghai. The latest market slide comes as investors grapple with uncertainty over when the highest inflation in decades will ease significantly, how much the Fed will have to raise interest rates in order to get it under control and how much the rate hikes will slow the economy.

Investors will be looking for insight into these unknowns later this week, when the Federal Reserve holds its annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

“The downbeat mood in Wall Street is playing out in the Asia session as well, and although another round of rate cuts to benchmark lending rate in China yesterday may aid to cushion some losses, overall upside could still remain limited amid the shunning of risks,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG in Singapore.

The People’s Bank of China cut a lending rate Monday, a week after it cut interest rates.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1.2% in afternoon trading to 28,454.45. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slid 1.1% to 6,971.10. South Korea's Kospi dipped 1.1% to 2,435.26. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.8% to 19,509.56, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed, inching up less than 0.1% at 3,278.64.

“Investors are being cautious as continuous risk-off flows have hit global markets,” said Anderson Alves at ActivTrades, noting that rising gas prices were a big risk, especially for Europe.

The S&P 500 had its biggest slide since mid-June, sliding 2.1%, nearly doubling its losses from last week, when it broke a four-week winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial...