· Asian shares on edge as U.S. bond yields rise, oil volatile
Share markets were jittery in early Asia on Wednesday as trading was buffeted by a step-up in U.S. Treasury yields as well as volatile oil prices in the face of price-cooling moves by the United States and other nations.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) slid 0.24%, while Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock price index (.N225) fell 1.13%, as it returned from holiday and caught up with global falls the day before .
· Nikkei drops as hawkish Fed bets unsettle investors
The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 1.58% to close at 29,302.66 while the Topix index declined 1.16% to 2,019.12. Markets in Japan were closed on Tuesday for a holiday.
South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.1% on the day to 2,994.29.
· China stocks slip as new energy, agriculture firms weigh
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.54% as of its final hour of trading. Mainland Chinese stocks finished the trading day mixed, with the Shanghai composite rising 0.1% to 3,592.70 and the Shenzhen component shedding 0.118% to about 14,887.60.
Elsewhere in Asia, the Straits Times index in Singapore gained 0.12%, as of 3:16 p.m. local time.
Singapore’s economy grew 7.1% in the third quarter as compared with a year ago, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. It was higher than an earlier official advance estimate for 6.5% year-on-year growth.
· Australian shares end lower as firmer dollar, bond yields weigh
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.15% lower at 7,399.40.
· Philippines temporarily limits rice imports from Vietnam
The Philippines is Vietnam's largest rice export market, accounting for 40% of its total rice shipments.
"We import only what we need, and that we have enough supply at the moment, given the bumper wet season harvest," the spokesperson said in a response to a query from Reuters.
· European markets nudge higher as investors digest data, Covid surge
European stocks inched higher on Wednesday as investors monitored the latest data out of the euro zone and the region’s latest Covid surge.
· European markets continue to monitor the acute Covid crisis in the region this week, with more countries considering stricter restrictions and partial lockdowns to curb rising infections.
Germany is expected to make a decision on stricter measures on Wednesday amid a surge in cases there, and France recorded more than 30,000 new daily infections on Tuesday for the first time since August.
· Asian FX resist dollar strength, Thai stocks hit over 2-year high
Emerging market currencies in Asia were resilient on Wednesday, even as rate-hike bets strengthened the U.S dollar, while Thai stocks rose after the country's finance minister said that the monetary policy must stay accommodative to aid fiscal policy.
In Thailand, finance minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith told a business seminar future government measures will be for easing the pandemic's impact and Thailand must shift to focusing on the domestic economy.
Stocks (.SETI) in the country hit their highest since September 2019, while the baht — the region's worst performing currency this year — fell 0.6% to lead losses.
Poon Panichpibool, a market strategist at Krung Thai Bank said that a weaker baht has helped export-oriented sectors in the country's equity market to rally.
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