Asian markets drop after Wall St loss, yen rises ahead of BoJ

The yen has been boosted by speculation the Bank of Japan will shift away from its ultra-loose monetary policy – Copyright AFP Richard A. Brooks

Equities fell Friday following a sell-off on Wall Street where forecast-beating data revived concerns the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates further, while speculation swirled that the Bank of Japan could be preparing to shift from its era of easy money.

Traders have enjoyed a broadly positive week on hopes central banks were at or close to the end of more than a year of monetary tightening as inflation comes down and figures suggest the US economy is holding up.

The Fed said Wednesday that future rate decisions would be determined by data, which was welcomed by investors who saw recent indicators — pointing to an easing of price pressure and softening of the labour market — as giving it room to hold off more increases.

And on Thursday, European Central Bank boss Christine L