Hong Kong, Aug 20: Asian shares advanced Thursday, tracking Wall Street gains, and South Korea’s benchmark Kospi jumped more than 6 per cent.
US futures edged higher after the Treasury Department said it would at least double the size of planned purchases of longer-term government debt.
That could ease pressure on share prices emanating from the bond market since the purchases would push bond prices higher, helping to bring down yields.
The Kospi surged 6.1 per cent to 6,858.91 after sinking 5.8 per cent on Wednesday on renewed selling of shares related to artificial intelligence.
Samsung Electronics jumped 9.7 per cent, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix surged 14.1 per cent after the company announced a significant share buyback plan.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.3 per cent to 66,178.26, reversing declines earlier in the week. Japan reported it logged a trade deficit for a third straight month in July, as both imports and exports hit record highs.
Shares of OpenAI investor SoftBank Group, a Japanese multinational investment holding firm, added 3.8 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.1 per cent to 25,786.32, while the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.3 per cent to 3,905.23.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.3 per cent to 9,066.40.
Taiwan’s Taiex was nearly unchanged and India’s Sensex climbed 0.7 per cent.
Yields on US government bonds fell after the Treasury Department’s announcement on its expanded plans in government debt buybacks. Bond yields fall when bond prices rise in an inverse relation.
The move appeared to mollify investors worried over rising yields. On Wednesday, the benchmark S&P 500 climbed 0.2 per cent for its first gain in four days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2 per cent and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite also rose 0.2 per cent.
Yields have risen in recent months over growing concerns about inflation stemming from the monthslong war in Iran and ballooning government debt, among other factors.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury fell to nearly 4.64 per cent from 4.71 per cent on Tuesday, although it’s still well above its levels from before the start of the war in Iran. The 30-year Treasury yield fell to 5.18 per cent on Thursday, from 5.28 per cent on Tuesday.
In Asia, bond yields also eased after the US Treasury’s announcement. Japan’s 10-year government bond yield fell to around 2.83 per cent from more than 2.89 per cent on Wednesday. It had been trading near 30-year highs.
Oil prices rose slightly early Thursday as there was little progress made in US-Iran negotiations over the war. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 0.3 per cent to USD 91.90 a barrel. It was trading at roughly USD 72 per barrel before the war.
US benchmark crude edged 0.2 per cent higher to USD 84.57 a barrel.
The US dollar rose to 158.60 Japanese yen from 158.16 yen. The euro was trading at USD 1.1676, down from USD 1.1677. (AP)
