Investing.com – Asia-Pacific shares are set for a flat start on Friday as US bond yields showed signs of stabilizing and investors eagerly await the release of September’s nonfarm payrolls data.
By 10:10 AEDT (12:10am GMT), ASX 200, KOSPI 200, and Nikkei 225 futures were each trading within a range of 0.1%. Meanwhile, the NZX 50 index dipped 0.3%.
During Thursday’s trade, the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the tech-centric NASDAQ Composite each fell by 0.1%.
Among individual stocks, Lamb Weston Holdings Inc (NYSE:LW) saw an 8% rally, while Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) shares plunged 23% after announcing a $1.5 billion debt offering.
In the commodities market, Brent crude oil dropped by 1.8% to US$84.23 a barrel, while gold prices remained steady at US$1,822.6.
In the local bond market, Australian 2 Year government bonds saw a decrease in yield to 4.061%, and the 10 Year yield also dropped to 4.596%. In contrast, US Treasury notes rose, with the 2 Year yield reaching 5.025% and the 10 Year yield at 4.719%.
In currency news, the Australian dollar, Thai Baht, Korean Won, and Japanese Yen all saw increases of 0.1% as the US Dollar Index eased 0.4%.
In Asian markets, Hong Kong shares closed slightly higher, primarily driven by gains in consumer and property stocks. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.1% to 17213.87. In Japan, shares ended higher, with significant gains in real estate, auto, and bank stocks, as concerns about higher borrowing costs eased due to the calming US bond market. The Nikkei 225 rose 1.8% to 31075.36.
India’s benchmark Sensex also rose by 0.6% to close at 65631.57, benefiting from the retreat in Treasury yields.
In Europe, stocks closed mixed, with Germany’s DAX index ending the day lower, while the UK’s FTSE 100 index outperformed, closing up 0.5%.
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