Asian shares slip after rate jitters pull Wall Street lower

BANGKOK — Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Friday, with only Shanghai gaining after the government reported inflation stayed steady at just over 2% in May, allowing more leeway for policies to boost sluggish growth.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 1.5% to 27,824.29 while the Kospi in Seoul shed 1.1% to 2,595.87. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.3% to 6,932.00. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.3%, shedding early gains, to 21,801.16.

The Shanghai Composite index added 1.4% to 3,284.83 after the government reported that consumer price inflation remained muted, at 2.1%, in May. That leaves regulators more room to adjust policy to counter a prolonged economic slowdown worsened by widespread restrictions imposed to counter outbreaks of coronavirus.

In another market-related move, the China Security Regulatory Commission issued a statement saying it has not yet evaluated and…