Sydney — Asian stocks pulled back from all-time peaks on Friday as higher longer-dated bond yields and underwhelming US data dented investor confidence in a faster economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, while gold hit a seven-month trough.
Core bond yields have pushed higher globally led by the so-called “reflation trade” where investors wager on a pickup in growth and inflation. Successful coronavirus vaccine rollouts so far and hopes of huge fiscal spending under US President Joe Biden have spurred reflation trades. While rising yields weighed on investor sentiment, “disappointing US jobless figures didn’t help the cause either,” Catril added.