Asian shares slip as Fed signals 'downshift' in economy

Shares fell in Asia on Thursday after further losses on Wall Street following a Federal Reserve report showing U.S. economic activity slowed this summer.

The report pointed to resurgent coronavirus cases and mounting supply chain problems and labor shortages — woes affecting many economies. Benchmarks fell in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sydney.

Japan extended its emergency measures to combat COVID-19 outbreaks until the end of September, as numbers of new cases have been declining only slowly, straining the healthcare system.

Chinese markets have been chilled by further moves by the government to strengthen controls over online businesses that thrived during the pandemic.

On Wednesday, Chinese regulators summoned gaming companies including Tencent Holdings and NetEase Inc. and urged them to protect the physical and mental health of children, state media reported.

In another development, ratings agencies say Evergrande Group, one of China’s biggest real estate developers, looks increasingly likely to default on its debts following news reports it will delay interest payments on bank loans. The company is selling assets to raise cash and faces complaints it is late in paying contractors and in delivering projects to customers.

Ratings agencies Moody’s and Fitch cut their ratings on Evergrande debt this week to a level that indicates they believe the company is likely to default on bond payments due to lack of cash. Chinese authorities are trying to reduce high debt levels in the economy and have urged Evergrande to resolve its more than $300 billion in debt, but financial analysts to suggest they might allow a default while trying to reduce its impact on the financial system.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.8% to 29,938.55. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 1.6% to...