Asian stocks rise and oil prices slip after Treasury yields ease

Article content

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks rose early Friday as U.S. Treasury yields eased after a rocky week due to worries in the bond market over mounting U.S. government debt.

Article content

Article content

The yield of the 10-year Treasury shed 0.6% to 4.52% while the two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for action by the Federal Reserve, slipped 0.4% to 3.98%.

Article content

Oil prices dropped on expectations that the OPEC+ group of oil exporters may decide on another increase in output at their next meeting.

Article content

U.S. benchmark crude oil dropped 51 cents to $60.69 per barrel while Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 51 cents to $63.93 per barrel.

Article content

Article content

In share trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.8% to 37,289.60 after the government reported a core inflation rate of 3.5% in April, the highest since early 2023.

Article content

Article content

The surge in prices has increased the likelihood that the Bank of Japan might raise its benchmark interest rate at its next policy meeting, analysts said.

Article content

But pressures and uncertainty from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes will limit what the BOJ can do, given recent signs of weakness in the economy, Min Joo Kang of ING Economics said in a report.

Article content

He added that “with US tariffs likely to impact manufacturing and exports negatively throughout this year, the BOJ’s policy changes are likely to be gradual.”

Article content

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng picked up 0.4% to 23,627.99 while the Shanghai Composite Index added 1% to 3,382.12.

Article content

Seoul’s Kospi climbed 0.2% to 2,597.49 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gained 0.4% to 8,379.10.

Article content

On Thursday, stocks drifted to a mixed close on Wall Street.

Article content

The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1%, to close at 5,842.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.35 points to 41,859.09. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3% to 18,925.73.

Article content

Article content

Technology stocks did most of the heavy lifting for the broader market. The majority of stocks within the S&P 500 lost ground, but gains for technology companies with outsized values offset those losses. Google’s parent Alphabet jumped 1.4% and Nvidia rose 0.8%.

Article content

Treasury yields held a bit steadier in the bond market after the House of Representatives approved a bill that would cut taxes and could add trillions of dollars to the U.S. debt.

Article content

The House’s multitrillion-dollar spending bill, which aims to extend some $4.5 trillion in tax breaks from President Donald Trump’s first term while adding others, is expected to be amended when it gets to the Senate for a vote.

Article content

The legislation also includes a speedier rollback of production tax credits for clean electricity projects, which sent shares of solar companies tumbling. Sunrun dropped 37.1%, Enphase Energy fell 19.6% and First Solar slid 4.3%.

Article content

Health care stocks also fell Thursday after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it was immediately expanding its auditing of Medicare Advantage plans. UnitedHealth Group fell 2.1% and Humana lost 7.6%.