Asian markets drop as Fed signals end of pandemic-era cheap cash

HONG KONG (AFP): Equity markets tumbled in Asia on Thursday (Jan 27) following a late sell-off on Wall Street in reaction to a surprisingly hawkish turn by Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell who signalled the bank would begin lifting interest rates in March.

After one of the Fed's most highly anticipated meetings for some time, he said the world's number one economy was well on the recovery path with unemployment largely under control, allowing officials to begin removing the crutches put in place at the start of the pandemic.