Asian equity benchmarks sank the most in two weeks on Monday as investors worried about quick rate hikes in the United States and the weakening economy, while the euro found support after Emmanuel Macron was re-elected as French president.

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MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific equities outside Japan fell 1.6% to a six-week low, while the Chinese yuan’s severe losses were prolonged by a shove from authorities.

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The Nikkei in Japan plummeted 1.9%. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong plummeted by 3%. S&P 500 futures were down 0.8%, while FTSE and European futures were down more than 1%. The price of oil has dropped by 2.7%.

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The euro remained almost unchanged at $1.0802, despite broad dollar advances elsewhere, as it hit a nearly two-month high against a faltering pound.

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Stocks in the United States fell at the end of last week after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated a 50-basis-point rate rise was on the table at the May meeting, while St. Louis Fed President James Bullard suggested 75-basis-point hikes.

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The Treasury market remained stable, with the benchmark 10-year yield remaining at 2.8581% and the two-year yield remaining at 2.6399%, down from last week’s highs.

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Investors have been unimpressed by official assistance for China’s slowing economy, with the blue-chip CSI 300 index falling to its lowest level since June 2020.

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On Monday, the middle of China’s onshore currency trading band was set at its lowest level in eight months, regarded as an official acknowledgement of the yuan’s recent decline, and it was promptly sold to a one-year low of 6.5225 per dollar.

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The dollar was also on the rise abroad, however, trade in Australia and New Zealand was slowed by public holidays. The Australian dollar lost 0.8% to $0.7185, a six-week low, while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.4% to $0.6603, a two-month low.

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Last week, the pound fell 0.3% to an 18-month low of $1.2792, weighed down by dismal retail sales numbers.

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Brent crude futures fell 2.7% to $103.88 a barrel, a two-week low. Crude oil futures in the United States declined 2.6% to $99.38 a barrel.

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In Asia, copper and iron ore prices declined, but soybean oil prices rose following an Indonesian ban on palm oil exports.