TOKYO -- Following two years shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic, Asia's markets this year faced an unprecedented landscape dominated by historic inflation and central banks' monetary tightening.
The Japanese yen became the biggest loser among major currencies against the dollar as the Fed started rapid rate hikes. At the same time, the region's best-known high-tech sector stocks, such as Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., faced significant downturns due to tighter monetary policies and a projected economic slowdown.