Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower on Thursday after investors saw minutes from a Federal Reserve meeting as a sign the U.S. central bank might hike interest rates faster to cool inflation, the Associated Press reported. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney retreated. Oil prices fell. The Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.2% to 3,587.19 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo tumbled 2.7% to 28,553.02. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.6% to 22,779.58. The Kospi in Seoul retreated 0.8% to 2,928.78 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 sank 2.7% to 7,358.30. India's Sensex opened down 1.4% at 59,355.63. In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude lost $1.09 to $76.77 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 86 cents to $77.85 on Wednesday. Brent crude, the price basis for international oils, sank $1.15 to $79.65 per barrel in London. It rose 80 cents the previous session to $80.80. The dollar declined to 115.87 yen from Wednesday's 116.16 yen. The euro was little-changed at $1.1312.
