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STOCK PRICES. A man walks in front of an electronic screen displaying Japan's Nikkei stock prices quotation board inside a conference hall in Tokyo, Japan, April 27, 2026.
'A hotter-than-expected inflation report and persistent geopolitical tensions reminded investors that sticky prices and elevated energy costs are not going away anytime soon,' says a market analyst in Sydney
SINGAPORE – Stocks started the Asian session on the back foot on Wednesday, May 13, with talks between Washington and Tehran at a standstill as hotter-than-expected US inflation underscored the growing economic toll of the Middle East conflict.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.6%, down for a second day as South Korean shares fell as much as 3.2% before rebounding. The South Korean market has been on a tear in recent weeks, breaching records regularly on an artificial intelligence-led rally that some traders say was ripe for a pullback.
