HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares fell and oil prices surged Thursday after stocks on Wall Street retreated from their latest records.
U.S. equity futures were mixed.
Stocks once again have retreated under pressure from rising yields in the bond market. The yield on the 10-Year U.S. Treasury stayed near a multi-decade high after minutes released Wednesday from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting showed that most Fed officials expect another interest
rate hike this year.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.9% to 69,438.77. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.8% to 6,750.25. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.2% to 24,072.98. The Shanghai Composite index edged down 0.1% to 3,840.03.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.6% to 8,677.20.
Taiwan’s Taiex dropped 0.7%.
On Wednesday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 dropped 0.2% a day after reaching an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.7%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 0.2% from its record.
Inflation in the U.S. remains above the Fed’s 2% target. In September, the Fed raised rates for the first time in three years by a quarter percentage point to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%.
Rising bond yields hurt stock prices, in part because companies and consumers face higher borrowing costs. Yields on U.S. Treasurys have surged as the global energy shock driven by the Iran war pushed prices higher, while the U.S. national debt has continued to grow.
The yield on the U.S. 10-Year Treasury was at around 5.31% after rising as high as 5.36% on Wednesday, its highest level since 2002.
Adding to worries over inflation, oil prices have bounced back given the uncertainties over global crude supplies. The U.S. and Iran have yet to reach a deal to end their war. A report Wednesday by The Atlantic, citing two unnamed officials, said that the White House had asked the Pentagon to develop strike options against Iran before the midterm elections in November.
Early Thursday, Brent crude, the international standard, was up 2.2% at $102.43 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.9% to $89.96 a barrel.
The International Energy Agency said Wednesday that its members support faster releases of oil from inventories.
The U.S. dollar rose to 158.20 Japanese yen from 158.08 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1198, up slightly from $1.1197, as elevated yields for bonds in France and growing worries about its government debt added pressure to the euro.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.
