Asian Stocks Ease as Traders Reassess Fed Rate Cut Bets

A man walks past an electronic board showing Japan's Nikkei average and stock prices outside a brokerage, in Tokyo, Japan, on March 17, 2023. Androniki Christodoulou/Reuters

SINGAPORE—Asian shares fell on Thursday and the dollar was near a three-week high as traders dialled back bets of steep and early rate cuts this year, with the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting providing few clues on when U.S. cuts might start.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.17 percent and was headed for the third straight day of losses in a sobering start to the year. Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.5 percent on its first trading day of the year.