Asian stocks mixed after Wall St sinks on rate fears

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Tuesday after Wall Street sank under pressure from interest rate worries, Japanese wages rose and Australia's central bank hiked its benchmark lending rate.

Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul advanced. Tokyo and Sydney declined. Oil prices rose.

Wall Street sank for a second day Monday after unexpectedly strong U.S. data on hiring and wages dampened hopes the Federal Reserve might decide it has succeeded in cooling inflation and can wind down plans for more rate hikes.

Traders were looking ahead to a speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell in Washington for possible clues about rate plans. Some are counting on a U.S. rate cut as early as late 2023 despite comments by Fed officials that they will stay elevated for an extended period.

Expectations for the Fed to reverse course are unrealistic, Clifford Bennett of ACY Securities said in a report.

“The mismatching of financial market pricing and economic reality is both stark and stretched,” Bennett said.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost less than 0.1% to 27,692.28 after the government reported wages rose 4.8% over a year earlier in December. That was close to a three-decade high as workers press for higher pay to keep pace with inflation.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2% to 3,244.55 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 1% to 21,422.97. The Kospi in Seoul added 0.6% to 2,453.80.

Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 lost 0.5% to 7,599.70 after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.35%. The RBA said more rate hikes are planned to bring down inflation that is at a 33-year high of 7.8% to its target range of 2% to 3%.

India's Sensex opened down 0.2% at 60,378.10. New Zealand and Singapore declined while Jakarta advanced.

On Wall Street, the...