Asian shares shaken as bonds continue their march higher
Benchmark US treasury yields are at fresh seven-year highs, pulling government bonds across the globe in their wake
Tokyo — Asian shares wobbled on Friday after benchmark US treasury yields surged to a fresh seven-year high, and strong economic data fanned concern about inflation and the risk of faster-than-expected interest rate rises. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3%, while Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.5% and the Australian benchmark was up just 0.1%. “Rapidly rising Treasury yields are rocking equity markets around the globe, with high price-to-earnings tech stocks leading the decline,” said Yasuo Sakuma, chief investment officer at Libra Investments. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note hit a fresh seven-year high of 3.232% overnight following data released the previous day that was seen as increasing the odds a Friday payrolls report would also be stronger than expected. Wall Street stocks, in turn, fell broadly on Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average suffering its first decline in six sessions, and both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices suffering t...
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