Yellen's Remarks and Powell's Stance Shake Asia and US Markets

Asia-Pacific markets fell as investors weighed remarks from U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said federal emergency actions to back up failed regional banks could be used again if necessary. Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.38%, and the Topix saw a larger loss of 0.46% as the country saw its core inflation come in at 3.1% for February, marking the first time in 14 months that the pace of inflation has slowed. Jobless claims unexpectedly nudged lower last week, pointing to a labor market that remains extremely tight. Cryptocurrency prices jumped on Thursday as investors became optimistic that the Federal Reserve's rate-hiking campaign would soon come to an end.