SINGAPORE — Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were broadly higher in Wednesday trade as investors monitor developments surrounding the war in Ukraine.
Mainland China equities led gains among the region’s major markets, with the Shanghai Composite rising 1.29% and the Shenzhen Component rising 2.09%.
Hong Kong-listed shares of embattled developer Evergrande’s electric vehicle division fell 8.52% after resuming trading on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Hong Kong-listed China Evergrande Group shares “will remain suspended until further notice,” according to a company announcement on Tuesday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.15%, while shares in Chinese tech giant Tencent rose 1.33%.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.37%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.59%.
Japanese equities underperformed the broader region as the Nikkei 225 fell 1.4%, while shares in telecom company KDDI fell more than 4%. The Topix Index lost 1.74%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific stocks outside of Japan gained 1.22%.
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US Treasury yields also continued to be watched by investors on Wednesday, with markets now eyeing the spread between the 2-year and 10-year rates for a possible reversal – after the 5-year and 30-year narrowed -Interest rates have reversed for the first time since 2006.
The benchmark 10-year government bond yield was last seen at 2.3578%, while the 30-year government bond yield was 2.4797%. The 5-year Treasury note yield was 2.4566%, while the 2-year Treasury note yield was 2.3405%. Yields move inversely with prices.
Yield curve inversions have occurred before recessions, with purchases of longer-dated government bonds seen as a sign of investor concerns about the health of the economy.
Still, UBS Global Wealth Management’s Kelvin Tay said the 10-year Treasury yield was “skewed” due to the size of the Federal Reserve’s massive nearly $9 trillion balance sheet.
“Excluding the fact that the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet is $9 trillion … 10-year Treasury yields probably aren’t going to be 2.4%, they’re probably going to be much higher and closer to the 3 percent point,” he said Tay, the firm’s regional chief investment officer, told CNBC’s Street Signs Asia on Wednesday.
Investors were also watching developments between Russia and Ukraine, as the Russian military began moving some of its troops in Ukraine from the areas around Kyiv to positions elsewhere in Ukraine, although Pentagon press secretary John Kirby warned that troop movements would not result in a retreat.
Currencies and Oil
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of its peers, came in at 98.124 after falling from above 98.8 recently.
The Japanese yen traded at 121.69 per dollar, stronger than levels above 124 recorded against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7527, still above the sub-$0.74 level recorded last week.
Oil prices were higher during the Asian session, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.81% to $111.12 a barrel. US crude futures were up 0.66% to $104.93 a barrel.