Asia Stocks Slide After Fed Minutes, Led by China: Markets Wrap.

Stocks in Asia fell as China's weakness contributed to a risk-off sentiment following the release of Federal Reserve meeting minutes indicating that interest rates will remain high for a longer period. Regional shares declined in Australia, South Korea, and China, while Japan's Topix Index turned higher after early losses. US stock futures were flat in Asia after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 experienced consecutive daily declines. Attention now turns to upcoming US jobs data, with swaps traders adjusting their rate cut bets after the Fed's December meeting. Chinese stocks were the biggest drag in Asia, despite a private gauge showing an increase in the country's services activity. Chinese government bond yields fell to their lowest in over three years, and the offshore yuan remained steady. The region's semiconductor and technology stocks also declined, tracking the selloff on Wall Street. The Japanese yen weakened against the dollar, and the recent earthquake in Japan is putting pressure on the central bank's plan to abolish negative interest rates. Treasuries steadied in Asian trading after a decline on the worst opening day of the year, and US manufacturing data showed continued contraction. Geopolitical tensions in Iran and disruptions in Libya supported oil prices. Bitcoin and gold saw slight gains. [Extracted from the article]

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