TOKYO- Asian stocks were overall weaker in volatile trading, with tech shares around the region getting little steer from heavyweight US chipmaker and artificial intelligence darling Nvidia’s earnings.
Cryptocurrency bitcoin languished near the $85,000 mark, while safe-haven gold was steady some $64 an ounce below its record high as trade war worries kept market sentiment fragile.
US President Donald Trump clouded the outlook for looming levies on top trading partners Canada and Mexico on Wednesday by signaling they would take effect on April 2, which would be another month-long extension.
However a White House official later said the previous March 2 deadline for the levies remained in effect “as of this moment”, stirring further uncertainty about US trade policy.
US two-year Treasury yields rose to 4.09 percent, finding their footing following a slump to the lowest since November 1 at 4.065 percent in the prior session. The 10-year yield rose to 4.2809 percent from a low of 4.245 percent on Wednesday, a 2-1/2-month trough.
The dollar and US yields have been under pressure in recent weeks as a run of soft economic indicators have combined with growth worries arising from Trump’s tariff plans.
Traders have raised bets for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in recent days, now seeing two quarter-point reductions this year, with the first likely in July and the next as early as October.
Markets will look at GDP and durable orders data due on Thursday for any stronger signs of slowdown, while the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) index, is due on Friday.
“Markets are starting to feel less confidence about US growth,” said Shoki Omori, chief global desk strategist at Mizuho Securities.
“I think US data surprises will continue to be towards the downside,” although as economists start to adjust their forecasts towards weaker outcomes, and with inflation still “sticky”, 10-year Treasury yields are unlikely to fall below 4 percent, Omori said.
