HONG KONG: Asian markets were mixed on Friday (Sep 25) after recent oil price surges, as US and Japanese bond yields hit multi-year highs with no clear end in sight for the Middle East war.
A two-month extension of a trade truce between the United States and China left several issues unresolved, analysts said, shifting lingering risks into the future.
Oil prices eased slightly on Friday, with Brent Crude shedding 0.8 per cent after spiking more than 3 per cent on Thursday to extend previous gains.
Global stocks had mostly fallen on Thursday, as the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield rose to its highest level since 2007, and the 30-year yield reached its highest since 2004.
Japan’s 10-year yield also reached a fresh 30-year high Friday.
“Bond yields are bouncing around like a see-saw,” Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, wrote in a note.
“There is no clear direction for markets,” she said, listing unknown factors such as “are we in a bond crisis or not?” and “Is the Iran war getting worse or is the situation improving?”
“While these questions remain unanswered, volatility will continue to dominate, especially in the commodity and bond markets,” Brooks said.
Tokyo closed 1.3 per cent higher, but Hong Kong fell 1.3 per cent, with Sydney and Jakarta also down. Shanghai, Taipei and Seoul were closed for holidays.
London opened 0.6 per cent higher, with Frankfurt and Paris up too.
Stock dips this week have been mild, along with “fairly moderate” movements in foreign exchange markets despite a “clear preference for the dollar”, Brooks said.
