Asia-Pacific markets opened with mixed results on Thursday, following a decline in U.S. stocks driven by inflation concerns and rising bond yields.
By 11:40 am AEDT (12:40 am GMT) the ASX 200 in Australia rose 0.3%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 eased 0.2%. Markets in South Korea, Hong Kong and China remained closed for public holidays.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each lost 0.5%.
Among S&P 500 companies, F5 surged 11.3%, Starbucks jumped 8.2%, and T-Mobile US gained 6.3%.
On the downside, Packaging Corp of America fell 9.8%, Danaher dropped 9.7%, and Moderna declined 9.4%.
Government bond yields climbed after Federal Reserve officials signaled comfort with maintaining interest rates at current levels.
Traders remain cautious that inflation will persist above the Fed’s 2% target and that Treasury yields will continue to rise in the absence of rate cuts.
After the closing bell, investors turned their attention to earnings reports from major tech firms, including Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Tesla.
In commodity markets, Brent crude oil declined 0.8% to $76.84 per barrel, while gold slipped 0.2% to $2,757.04 per ounce.
In global markets, India's BSE SENSEX gained 0.8% to reach 76,533.
U.K. stocks finished in positive territory, as the FTSE 100 Index rose 0.3% to 8,557.8. European markets were mixed, with Germany’s DAX advancing 1% to 21,637.5, while France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.3% to 7,872.5.