Investors were bracing themselves for more interest rate hikes from the US following the latest consumer prices report out of the States

The region’s indexes began the week on the back foot with worries over inflation and the US Fed’s next move distracting traders

Gains were capped, though, by the overwhelmingly gloomy global picture and threat of recession in 2023

Hong Kong’s benchmark index was boosted by news its government was poised to roll back more Covid restrictions but fears of recession dominated elsewhere

Investors were in pessimistic mood with US banks predicting a downturn next year and worries over how China will cope with another winter pandemic

Strong US economic data sparked worries the Fed might stick to its aggressive rate hikes policy for longer while Beijing’s pandemic rules rollback raised optimism

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged more than 4% as investor optimism was boosted by Beijing’s moves to recoil some of its economically painful pandemic restrictions

The region’s major indexes ended the week on the back foot with reluctant investors staying on the sidelines

Poor factory output numbers out of Japan and China dampened the mood on trading floors despite hopes Beijing might ease its Covid curbs

Speculation that Beijing was poised to start rolling back some Covid control measures in the wake of widespread protests boosted investor mood

Covid curbs protests across several Chinese cities unsettled investors, pushing indexes down and sending the US dollar surging again

The region’s major markets were weighed down by worries over China’s Covid fight and bad news on Japan inflation despite optimism on US rate hikes