SINGAPORE, May 23 (Reuters) - Several key Asian share

benchmarks fell on Thursday as markets digested the implications

of policymakers in major economies preferring to take patient

approach to monetary easing amid sticky inflation.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

lost 0.57%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index

was one of the biggest decliners, slumping 0.8%, also

hurt by a pullback in some commodity prices.

Geopolitical tensions also kept investors nervous as China's

military started two days of "punishment" drills held in five

areas around Taiwan just days after new Taiwan President Lai

Ching-te took office. But Taiwan's stock market was not

too fussed and was last up 0.3%.

More hawkish-than-expected minutes of the Federal Reserve's

latest policy meeting, a hot UK inflation print and a sobering

assessment of New Zealand's inflation problems from the

country's central bank have caused investors to pare their bets

of the pace and scale of global rate cuts expected this year.

"One thing that's interesting from the last 24 hours that

can be taken away is still the uncertainty from central banks

about policy settings and at what levels interest rates have to

be at, and where they need to potentially stay at, in order to

tame inflation" said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst

at Capital.com.

"That's causing uncertainty from a policy point of view, but

it's obviously also causing uncertainty from a market point of

view."

U.S. futures meanwhile received an early boost after AI

darling Nvidia ( NVDA ) forecast quarterly revenue above

estimates after the bell on Wednesday, which sent its shares

jumping 5.9% in extended trade.

S&P 500 futures tacked on 0.3%, while Nasdaq futures

gained 0.57% in Asia trade.

Japan's Nikkei rose 0.6%, drawing some support from

a weaker yen that touched its lowest level in over

three weeks. It was last at 156.85 per dollar.

Sterling and the kiwi held near two-month

highs and last bought $1.2721 and $0.6102, respectively.

Data on Wednesday showed inflation in Britain eased less

than expected and a key core measure of prices barely dropped,

prompting investors to pull bets on a Bank of England rate cut

next month.

Earlier that day, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand

wrongfooted markets by warning cuts were unlikely until far into

2025 at the conclusion of its policy meeting where it held its

cash rate steady as expected.

"There are still 'hard yards' to be done to bring annual CPI

inflation down to the 2% target midpoint in a timely and

sustainable manner, and thus monetary policy easing remains

unlikely this year," said Kelly Eckhold, Westpac chief economist

for New Zealand.

"Our baseline view remains that the first 25bp policy easing

will occur in February next year, to be followed by a series of

gradual (once a quarter) 25bp reductions that will eventually

lower the OCR to around 3.75% in 2026."

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ran

into profit taking and fell 1.5%, after having touched an over

nine-month high at the start of the week.

China's blue-chip index eased 0.3%.

Gold dipped 0.25% to $2,372.28 an ounce, away from

its record high of $2,449.89 hit on Monday, as the prospect of

higher-for-longer U.S. rates took some shine off the yellow

metal.

Oil prices likewise fell, with brent crude down

0.82% to $81.23 a barrel, while U.S. crude edged 0.9%

lower to $76.87 per barrel.