Rising U.S. bond yields hit global markets, Asian stocks wobble

Asian shares wobbled on Friday after benchmark U.S. Treasury yields surged to a fresh seven-year high and strong economic data fanned concerns about the risk of faster-than-expected interest rate rises.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.6 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei average closed down 0.8 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.1 percent.

“Rapidly rising Treasury yields are rocking equity markets around the globe, with high price-to-earnings tech stocks leading the decline,” said Yasuo Sakuma, chief investment officer at Libra Investments.

While most Asian shares are seen ending their session in the red, financial spreadbetters expect London’s FTSE to open 21 points higher, Frankfurt’s DAX to rise 3 points and Paris’s CAC to add 2 points.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year note hit a fresh seven-year high of 3.232 percent overnight after figures out earlier were seen as increasing the odds Friday’s payrolls report would also be stronger than expected.