Asian markets mixed as rally stalls, inflation casts shadow
Asian markets were mixed on Thursday as investors took a breather following a recent run-up, while optimism about the global recovery remains shackled by concerns that a surge in inflation will force central banks to rein in monetary policy earlier than flagged. The rollout of vaccines, reopening of economies, trillions of dollars in stimulus and central bank largesse have combined to fuel a rally in world equities since their pandemic-induced collapse at the start of last year. And while that enormous splurge appears to have paid off, with lives slowly returning to a semblance of normal and businesses back up and running, traders have in recent months grown increasingly worried about the impact on prices. While most top officials, led by the Federal Reserve, have repeatedly said any inflation spike will be temporary and their ultra-easy monetary policies will be kept in place until the recovery is well on track, investors continue to worry. There are signs of movement, however, in some capitals with the central banks of New Zealand, Canada and Norway suggesting they could start tapering their bond-buying programmes or even interest rates as soon as next year, while Iceland has...