GLOBAL MARKETS-Rising bond yields, dollar slug Asian shares, yen

NEW YORK, March 4 (Reuters) - Asian stocks skidded on Friday
as rising U.S. Treasury yields again rattled equity investors
while hoisting the dollar to a three-month high, which in turn
dragged the Japanese yen to an eight-month trough.
Energy markets were not spared the volatility either, with
oil prices surging more than 5% overnight to their highest in
over a year, after OPEC and its allies agreed to keep production
unchanged into April as demand recovery from the coronavirus
pandemic was still fragile. O/R
In early Friday trade, Australian stocks .AXJO shed 1%,
Japan's Nikkei share average .N225 lost 0.7%, shares in Seoul
.KS11 fell 0.24% and E-Mini S&P futures ESc1 were a touch
lower at 0.04%.
U.S. stocks had dropped sharply on Thursday after Federal
Reserve Chair Jerome Powell disappointed some investors by not
indicating that the Fed might step up purchases of long-term
bonds to hold down longer-term interest rates. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite .IXIC tumbled 2.1%, taking
it down about 10% from its record closing high on Feb. 12 and
putting it in correction territory. .N
Even though Powell made it clear that the Fed was not close
to changing its ultra-loose monetary policy stance anytime soon,
some analysts still worried rising Treasury yields could herald
higher borrowing costs, thereby limiting the fragile U.S.
economic recovery.
"The U.S. dollar has gained 0.8%, and there you see the holy
trinity of market fears – rising real rates, increased
expectations of rate hikes, and a stronger U.S. dollar," said
Chris Weston, the head of Research at Pepperstone Markets Ltd, a
foreign exchange broker, in Australia.
Bond investors with a bearish view of Treasuries took heart
in Powell's remarks and sold the notes. The yield on 10-year
Treasuries US10YT=RR climbed above 1.5% to as high as 1.5727%,
but still below a one-year high of 1.614% struck last week.
US/
The yield curve, a measure of economic expectations,
steepened on rising yields, with the gap between two- and
10-year yields widening by another 6.3 basis points overnight.
Rising Treasury yields bolstered demand for the dollar. The
dollar index =USD jumped 0.61% against a basket of major
currencies to 91.651, within sight of a three-month high of
91.663. USD/
A stronger dollar hobbled the yen. By early Friday, the yen
JPY=D3 was soft at 107.95, a level not seen since July 1.
The euro EUR=EBS was also tripped by a firmer dollar, with
the common currency sluggish at $1.19665.
Climbing yields and dollar strength pummeled gold prices,
which sank to a nine-month low as investors sold the precious
metal to reduce the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding
asset. GOL/
Spot gold XAU= slid another 0.2% early Friday to stand at
$1,694.0600 per ounce, trading below $1,700 for the first time
since June 2020.
Oil prices, on the other hand, extended gains on early
Friday after zooming higher overnight.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 climbed 0.85% to $64.38 a barrel,
after scaling its January 2020 peak of $64.86 overnight.
Analysts said OPEC's decision to not increase output in April as
many had expected showed what it is prepared to do to deplete an
inventory overhang and keep prices elevated. O/R
In the cryptocurrency market, bitcoin BTC=BTSP narrowed
overnight losses and was down 3.8% at $48,473 early Friday.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country World Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>