BEIJING- Asian shares fell on Thursday, while the sell-off in US Treasuries paused and oil prices rose, as investors and traders weighed the latest developments in the Ukraine war and more hawkish comments from US Federal Reserve officials.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.6 percent. Japan’s Nikkei fell by more than 1 percent on Thursday morning, after touching a two-month high in the previous session.
China’s markets opened lower, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index .HSI down 0.9 percent and the mainland’s bluechip index off 0.7 percent. Shares of Tencent Holdings dropped 4.6 percent after it posted its slowest-ever sales rise.
US President Joe Biden arrived in Brussels for a series of summit meetings on the Ukraine War, with Biden set to announce a US package of Russia-related sanctions on political figures and oligarchs on Thursday.
Oil prices held firm. Russia President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow, which calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation”, will seek payment in roubles for gas sold to “unfriendly” countries.
Brent futures were up about 45 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $122.05 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate futures were up about 15 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $115.07 a barrel.
The bond market, meanwhile, paused for breath with the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes last at 2.3098 percent in Tokyo trading, after retreating from a nearly three-year peak of 2.4170 percent overnight.
The two-year yield, which is more sensitive to traders’ expectations for the Fed funds rate, stood at 2.1233 percent, down from an almost three-year high of 2.2020 percent reached Tuesday.
Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday signaled they stand ready to take more aggressive action to bring down unacceptably high inflation, including a possible half-percentage-point interest rate hike at the next policy meeting in May. – Reuters
