TOKYO - Global stocks mostly fell after the latest US inflation data added to worries that the Federal Reserve will enact more aggressive interest rate hikes.
Meanwhile, the dollar pushed higher against major currencies including the yen, which tumbled as the incoming head of Japan's central bank showed no intention of altering the policy of avoiding interest rate rises.
The Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures price index, rose 5.4 percent last month from January 2022.
The report is the latest indicator to suggest the US central bank still faces significant challenges in addressing sticky pricing pressure.
"It's hard to suggest that this data is not concerning," said Tom Cahill of Ventura Wealth Management, who questioned whether the Fed's actions will "drive the economy into recession."
The broad-based S&P 500 shed just over one percent, bringing its losses for the week to nearly three percent.
The dollar was broadly higher as markets bet on more Fed rate hikes.
"Inflation accelerated more than expected," said Joseph Manimbo, senior analyst at Convera.
A strong consumer, coupled with "inflation's jump in the wrong direction, adds credence to the view of the Fed having to raise rates beyond the first half of the year," he added.
European stock indices were also pulled lower by the US inflation data, while Tokyo equities rose solidly as the Bank of Japan's incoming governor Kazuo Ueda said its longstanding monetary easing policies were "appropriate."