Asian stocks waver as yen surges, Iran warns of retaliation
Investors struggle for direction as mixed regional data and fresh Persian Gulf threats push oil prices and bond yields higher.
Asian stocks fluctuated as the Japanese yen strengthened, while oil prices climbed for a third consecutive day. Brent crude futures rose 0.04% to US$97.04 a barrel, following a six-week high the previous day. The yen surged 0.6% to 153.51 against the US dollar, its strongest level since February. Asian markets, including the Nikkei 225 and MSCI's Asia-Pacific index, saw mixed performance.
In Japan, real wages increased 2.4% in July, marking the highest rise since May 2021. However, consumer sentiment in Australia fell sharply, dragging the local market down 0.6%. Oil prices surged due to ongoing tensions between the US and Iran, with the latter threatening retaliatory attacks targeting energy infrastructure in the Gulf.
The US 10-year Treasury bond yield rose 0.6 basis points to 4.788%. Traders continue to price a 60% chance of a 25-basis-point interest rate hike at the Federal Reserve's September meeting.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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