Asian stocks are slipping as U.S. yields rise and hit technology companies

Amidst the epidemic of corona virus disease (COVID-19), the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has been monitoring stock index prices against the US dollar and the Japanese yen exchange rate since the start of trading in 2022. Tokyo, Japan January 4, 2022. REUTERS / Issei Kato

Hong Kong, Jan. 5 (Reuters) – Asian stocks fell on Wednesday following a Wall Street session as the US Treasury’s high yields weighed on global tech firms and raised the dollar to a five – year low against the Japanese yen.

U.S. yields rose on Tuesday as bond investors prepared to raise interest rates from the Federal Reserve to curb stubbornly high inflation.

Wide index of MSCI of Asia-Pacific equities outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.8% (.N225) Changed a little.

US stock futures also fell, with the S&P 500 e-minis down 0.25% and the Nasdaq e-minis 0.4%.

“From an Asian perspective, this is a slightly higher risk-off tone because it’s also one of those days when high bond yields can be a bad thing because, although they represent a strong U.S. background, they are supportive of the dollar, not the local currency. Said.

“But it’s very tense, and tomorrow we may reconsider that higher yields represent a stronger global background,” Cornell said.

He said the stock market fell overnight on the Nasdaq due to higher yields in Asian stock markets, which have been given greater prominence by technology stocks in the region.

Technology stocks listed in Hong Kong (.HSTECH) Japan and Nintendo lost 3.7% in early trade (7974.D) 1% fell and Samsung in South Korea (005930.KS) Fell 2% before the quarterly results. read more

U.S. stocks traded lower on the tech-heavy Nasdaq on Tuesday (.IXIC) Lost 1.3%, however yield growth banks and industry names helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) A record completion and S&P 500 (.SPX) Touch the all-time intraday hike.

U.S. five-year notes, reflecting expectations of a rate hike, are the highest since February 2020, after US two-year note yields hit a strong high on Monday, March 2020.

Benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield touched a six-week high on Tuesday and finally stood at 1.657%.

The minutes of the forthcoming Central Bank December meeting at 1900 GMT may underscore the new sensitivity of US policymakers to inflation and their readiness to tighten policy.

Edison Bunn, senior market analyst at Soxho Markets in Hong Kong, said: “The market is now speculating that a March rate hike is possible when the Fed stops buying assets.

He thought the decline in technology stocks would be short-lived, while rising yields would help bank stocks.

HSBC’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose 2.3% on Wednesday, but China’s worst debt manager Huarong (2799.HK) Lost 40% of resumption of trading after the pause.

In the currency markets, the yen was 116.7 against the dollar, down 116.34 overnight, the lowest level since March 2017.

The gap between US and Japanese yields is widening and affecting the yen as the Bank of Japan is widely expected to be late if not the last in line to raise rates.

The euro was pushed back on the grounds that the European Central Bank may also be slow to raise rates. As a result, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against six peers, was 96.272, a strong result of its latest range.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, leaving some gains from the previous session. Brent crude futures fell 0.3% to $ 79.73 a barrel after reaching $ 80.26, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 0.3% to $ 76.75 a barrel.

Spot gold was at $ 1,814 an ounce, stable at the top of the day and its latest range.

Editing by Sam Holmes

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