{"id":8150,"date":"2021-03-19T08:45:05","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T08:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2021\/03\/19\/asian-shares-retreat-on-interest-rate-concerns\/"},"modified":"2021-03-19T08:45:05","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T08:45:05","slug":"asian-shares-retreat-on-interest-rate-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2021\/03\/19\/asian-shares-retreat-on-interest-rate-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Asian Shares Retreat On Interest Rate Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Asian stocks fell on Friday as a spike in treasury yields and plummeting oil prices on the back of demand concerns and a rising dollar weighed on investors’ risk appetite. <\/p>\n

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index slumped 58.40 points, or 1.69 percent, to 3,404.66, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended down 414.78 points, or 1.41 percent, at 28,990.94.<\/p>\n

Japanese shares fell sharply after the Bank of Japan said it would only buy Topix-linked exchange traded funds.<\/p>\n

The Nikkei average fell 424.70 points, or 1.41 percent, to 29,792.05, while the broader Topix index edged up 0.18 percent to 2,012.21, its highest level since 1991.<\/p>\n

Nikkei heavyweights Fast Retailing and SoftBank Group tumbled 6.1 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.<\/p>\n

Tokyo Electron lost 2.6 percent and Advantest shed 1.2 percent while shipping lines Mitsui OSK Lines, Kawasaki Kisen and Nippon Yusen surged 3-4 percent. <\/p>\n

Banks Mizuho Financial, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rose 1-2 percent on expectations they would benefit from rising interest rates. <\/p>\n

In economic news, overall consumer prices in Japan were down 0.4 percent year-on-year in February, official data showed. That matched expectations and was up from a decline of 0.6 percent in January.<\/p>\n

Australian stocks ended lower, dragged down by miners and energy companies. The benchmark S&P\/ASX 200 index slid 37.70 points, or 0.56 percent, to 6,708.20, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 44 points, or 0.63 percent, at 6,959.60. <\/p>\n

Oil Search, Santos and Woodside Petroleum lost 2-3 percent as oil prices plunged on demand worries due to rising Covid-19 cases. Lower copper prices weighed on the mining sector, with BHP, Fortescue Metals Group and Rio Tinto all ending down over 1 percent. <\/p>\n

Healthcare stocks finished broadly lower while tech stocks ended on a mixed note. Gold miners also ended mixed, with Newcrest falling 3.4 percent while Northern Star Resources surged 4.2 percent. <\/p>\n

In economic news, a government report showed the total value of retail sales in Australia fell a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent month-on-month in February. <\/p>\n

Seoul stocks fell after an overnight hike in long-term U.S. Treasury yields. The benchmark Kospi hit as low as 3,022.49 before recouping some of its loss to end the session down 26.48 points, or 0.86 percent, at 3,039.53.<\/p>\n

Heavyweight Samsung Electronics dropped 1.2 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK Hynix gave up 2.8 percent and leading chemical firm LG Chem tumbled 3.6 percent.<\/p>\n

New Zealand shares ended a choppy session slightly higher, with the benchmark NZX-50 index rising 19.08 points, or 0.15 percent, to 12,515.22.<\/p>\n

U.S. stocks fell overnight as oil prices recorded their biggest one-day drop since September and bond yields surged on expectations for faster economic recovery and inflation. <\/p>\n

Economic reports proved to be a mixed bag. While U.S. jobless claims unexpectedly jumped to a one-month high due to the impact of Winter Storm Uri, a measure of regional manufacturing activity spiked to a nearly 50-year high. <\/p>\n

The Dow dropped half a percent and the S&P 500 shed 1.5 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index plunged as much as 3 percent amid a sell-off in technology<\/span> stocks. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Business News<\/p>\n<\/div>\n