India, Feb. 20 -- The Japanese yen strengthened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Thursday, amid rising bets that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) would hike interest rates further. The safe-haven JPY also firmed on geopolitical worries.
Asian stock markets traded lower, as the U.S. Fed's minutes showed policymakers are more inclined to keep interest rates steady amid stubborn inflation. The continued concerns about the potential impact of higher tariffs to be imposed by the U.S. on partner nations also hurt market sentiment.
The minutes of the latest U.S. Fed policy meeting on January 28-29 revealed that officials want to see further progress on inflation before they consider resuming lowering interest rates. It also reiterat...