Asian shares, bitcoin decline on inflation concerns

Asian shares performed weakly as cryptocurrencies dropped lower on Wednesday. This came after investors’ risk appetite was dampened by inflation-driven uncertainties.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan recorded a 0.3% drop. China’s CSI300 dropped 0.6%, while Japan’s benchmark index Nikkei shed 1.1%. Hong Kong and South Korean markets were closed for a holiday.

In cryptocurrency markets, Bitcoin tallied a historic low of 5.3%. The drop came as the sharpest decline since early February, erasing more than a third of its value from a high of $64,895 seen over a month ago.

Analysts said that inflation stood as the primary concern. However, the Federal Reserve assured that surging inflation would be temporary and does not call for an immediate need to change the central bank’s current policy rates.