MSCI’s Asia Pacific equities gauge rose 0.8%, with South Korean shares leading the region higher. The Kospi surged 3.86% intraday, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.95% and the Topix gained 0.80%. Hang Seng futures pointed to a 0.9% rise.
US stock index futures also edged up during early Asian trading hours, building on the gains that the S&P 500 Index posted on Tuesday, despite weakness among chipmakers.
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South Korean chip maker SK Hynix drove much of the region’s gains, with its shares jumping more than 5% in early trading. The company said it would buy back 40 trillion won ($29 billion) worth of shares and step up returns to shareholders.
Treasuries held onto their advance after 30-year yields dropped 10 basis points to 5.18% during Wednesday’s US trading session. The rally followed the Treasury’s announcement that it would expand buybacks of securities maturing between 10 and 30 years, a move that came after yields had climbed to multi-decade highs. Bond markets in Australia and Japan also mirrored the shift in US Treasuries. The dollar also steadied, having earlier slipped to a three-month low.
The Japanese yen was little changed at 158.21 per dollar, while the offshore yuan held steady at 6.7291 per dollar.
The bond market had come under strain in recent sessions as investors sought higher compensation for inflation risk and mounting government debt, with tensions in West Asia adding to price pressures.
Heavy corporate borrowing tied to the artificial intelligence build out, alongside softer appetite from traditional buyers of long-dated debt, had also weighed on the market.
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Investors were also weighing on minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, which showed several officials had backed raising interest rates last month, with many believing further tightening could be necessary should inflation fail to ease, according to a Bloomberg report.
Oil prices meanwhile appeared to be mixed as Brent crude held steady above $91 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was little changed near $85 a barrel. Bitcoin, meanwhile, climbed to around $70,000 after President Donald Trump urged the US Congress to pass a major crypto bill during a White House meeting with industry experts.
