Asian Stocks Struggle to Build on Wall Street Rally Amid China Slowdown, Toyota Wage Hikes Raising BOJ Rate Hike Bets
• Stocks in Asia struggled to extend the Wall Street rally as China took a breather and Toyota wage talks raised speculation of a Bank of Japan rate hike
• Toyota met union wage demands in full, adding to signs of a sustainable wage-price cycle that could spur the BOJ to raise rates
• The relative calm in markets despite strong US inflation was unusual compared to past CPI days since the Fed started hiking
• China Vanke is in talks on a debt swap to help the developer avoid its first ever bond default
• Cathay Pacific delivered record annual operating profit, shaking off its sluggish pandemic recovery