Asian shares see turbulent start on inflation concerns

Asian share markets started their Wednesday session turbulently. The series of declines, which came after a wild fluctuation in U.S. and European overnight trading, could be attributed to surging interest rates and rich equity valuations. 

Asia’s early performance sent Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 0.5% lower. South Korea’s KOSPI declined 0.4%, while Japan’s Nikkei recorded a 0.9% drop. Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plunged 0.37%.

On Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended its session with a 0.5% decline. This followed after investors took profits, withdrawing from tech-related stocks that boosted the market last March. In turn, the Dow and the S&P 500 advanced, gaining attention from investors in expectations that stocks under these indexes will perform well as the global economy recovers.