HONG KONG : Asia stocks traded mixed on Wednesday and benchmark U.S. Treasury yields were near multi-year highs, as investors sour on both stocks and bonds amid worries about the impact of higher-for-longer interest rates.
On Tuesday, Wall Street's major stock indexes followed Asian and European equities lower as investors continued to digest last week's indication from the Federal Reserve that it would keep rates higher for longer than investors had previously expected. In currencies, the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, advanced 0.085 per cent to 106.3, after hitting 106.21 on Tuesday, the highest since Nov. 30. The European single currency was down 0.1 per cent on the day at $1.0564, having lost 2.56 per cent in a month.
"USD/JPY traded in a fairly narrow range overnight and is currently trading just above 149. Higher U.S. Treasury yields and recent dovish comments from Bank of Japan officials have weighed on USD/JPY," CBA analysts said in a note."We see a high risk the BoJ intervenes soon to prop up the JPY."