The biggest Asian stock markets are down on Friday following a similar trend in the U.S. stock market a day earlier.

Investors are concerned that the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively tighten monetary policy for the foreseeable future due to continuing high inflation, which could have a negative impact on the U.S. economy. Traders expect the Fed’s benchmark interest rate to rise to 5% a year next year. Last week, before the release of fresh U.S. inflation data, they anticipated a rise to 4.6%, rate futures show.

Consumer prices in Japan, a major Asian stock market, rose 3 percent in September from a year earlier, the country’s Interior and Communications Ministry said Friday. A similar rate of increase was recorded in August. They are the highest since September 2014, with the price rise marking the thirteenth consecutive month.

Consumer prices excluding fresh food (a key indicator tracked by the Bank of Japan) rose 3% year on year last month after rising 2.8% in August. The figure exceeded the central bank’s 2% target for the sixth month in a row. The growth rate was the fastest since September 2014.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was down 0.4 percent at 8:17 Moscow time. China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.5%. South Korea’s Kospi index declined 0.35%. Australian S&P/ASX 200 index declined 0.8%. Over the past week it has lost more than 1%.

Earlier, we reported that Twitter shares fell due to a review of Musk’s operations.