Asia Stocks Market Crisis
Asian stocks skidded to a two-month low on Wednesday as nervous markets recoiled on worries about an earlier U.S. interest rate hike, a prospect that sent the dollar to a 12-year high against the euro.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 0.4 percent after touching its lowest since January. Australian shares lost 0.5 percent and Malaysian and Indonesian stocks also declined.
Riskier assets both in the United States and elsewhere have come under pressure after Friday's robust U.S. employment data increased expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise rates as soon as June - a prospect that appeared relatively more remote a few weeks prior.
The possibility of higher U.S. yields siphoning away funds from riskier assets drove the S&P 500 .SPX, at a record high two weeks ago, to its worst decline in two months overnight while emerging market stocks .MSCIEF fell to their lowest since early January.
Mexico's peso MXN= weakened to a record low and its Malaysian, South Korean, Brazilian and South African counterparts have also suffered heavy hits.
Renewed concern about Greece's debt talks with euro zone partners and deflationary pressures in China have also weighed on emerging markets in general.