Dollar slips from 18-month high as Treasuries rally
Traders put the chance of unchanged Fed rates in October at 73%, as officials signaled they could wait for greater clarity despite strong inflation data.
South Korea's Kospi triggers trading halt as Asian tech stocks fall
US inflation reached 3.7% in September, exceeding forecasts and prompting traders to increase bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike.
South Korea's Kospi briefly fell more than 8% on October 15, triggering a temporary trading suspension as chipmakers led losses across Asian stock markets. The index later recovered some ground, while Japan's Nikkei 225 declined close to 5%.
SK hynix dropped more than 11% and Samsung lost more than 9%. In Tokyo, Advantest fell 15%, Kioxia declined more than 12% and SoftBank shed 9.3%. Taipei's market retreated more than 3%, with TSMC down 2%.
The regional declines followed losses in all three major US stock indices, including a nearly 2% fall in the Nasdaq. Technology stocks had previously recovered some of their summer losses, which followed concerns over valuations and the timing of returns from large investments.
September's US consumer price index reading of 3.7% exceeded the 3.6% forecast and was the highest in five months. Gasoline prices rose 9.1% during the month, accounting for more than half of the monthly CPI increase.
CME Group's FedWatch tool showed futures pricing a 31.6% chance that the Federal Reserve would raise rates by 25 basis points at its October 28 meeting, up from 22.1% a day earlier. Neil Wilson at Saxo Markets said the inflation figures had prompted markets to anticipate faster Fed action.
Singapore's Straits Times Index ended 0.5% lower. AEM Holdings fell 10%, UMS Integration declined 9.7% and Frencken lost 6.4%. Stocks also fell in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Bangkok and Jakarta.