HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Friday following another bond sell-off that brought U.S. Treasury yields to their highest in years.
U.S. futures edged lower.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.2% to 66,318.14. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 1.7% to 24,333.20. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5% to 8,660.30.
India’s Sensex was up 0.2%.
Markets in mainland China, Taiwan and South Korea were closed because of a holiday.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 was
almost unchanged on Thursday, edging down less than 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.3%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed less than 0.1%.
A global sell-off in the bond market has again added pressure to the stock market, as the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury reached its highest since 2007. The U.S. 10-year Treasury eased slightly to around 5.19% early Friday, after rising above 5.20% on Thursday from around 5.11% Wednesday.
Government bond yields have been elevated as bond investors are demanding higher compensation under increasing risks and uncertainties, including growing inflationary pressure from the Iran war-driven energy shock and rising U.S. government debt.
Oil prices fell early Friday as investors look for signs of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway for global oil transport. Brent crude, the international standard, dropped 1.4% to $98.84 per barrel, remaining below the $100 mark although it’s still well above the roughly $72 a barrel level in late February before the start of the war.
While many investors are also monitoring the meeting in Washington between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, analysts said limited concrete progress has been made, although the two sides touched on topics including trade, artificial intelligence and the Middle East.
The U.S. dollar fell to 158.34 Japanese yen from 158.86 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1370, down from $1.1380.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.
