Asian shares fall, tracking Wall St dismay over price data

Asian markets skidded lower on Wednesday after Wall Street fell the most since June 2020 as a report showed inflation has kept a surprisingly strong grip on the U.S. economy.

Most regional benchmarks fell more than 2%, but were holding steady. U.S. futures edged higher, with the contracts for the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 up 0.2%. European futures were lower.

A report Tuesday showed U.S. inflation decelerated only to 8.3% in August, instead of the 8.1% economists expected. That dashed hopes that inflation was falling back to more normal levels after peaking in June at 9.1%, allowing the Federal Reserve to moderate its interest rate hikes.

Tensions between the U.S. and China also were weighing on sentiment. Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are due to meet later in the week, underscoring the countries' warming ties as the West pushes ahead with sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

The meeting Thursday in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on the sidelines of a summit of a security pact dominated by Moscow and Beijing, reflect the strong ties between the former Communist rivals now locked in rivalry with the U.S.

The U.S. is meanwhile reportedly considering new sanctions against Beijing aimed at deterring aggression against Taiwan, a self-governed island democracy that China claims as its own territory.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 2.6% to 18,831.88 and the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.9%, to 3,234.18.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 2.2% to 27,991.82, while Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 2.4% to 6,839.50. In Seoul, the Kospi lost 1.5% to 2,414.26.

On Tuesday, the Dow lost more than 1,250 points and the S&P 500 sank 4.3%. Tuesday’s hotter-than-expected report on inflation

The S&P 500 sank 4.3% to...