{
  "id": 1875143,
  "title": "Bond selloff slows but stocks wobble",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/bond-selloff-slows-but-stocks-wobble-1875143",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-19T05:50:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40435534/bond-selloff-slows-but-stocks-wobble"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Global bond yields have hovered near their highest levels in decades as concerns over mounting sovereign debt have driven borrowing costs higher and unsettled stock markets around the world. The yield on the US long bond surged to its highest level in nearly 20 years, at 5.3371% on Tuesday, before settling around 5.28% in Asia on Wednesday. Similarly, the 10-year and 30-year German government bond yields hit their highest levels since 2011.\n\nFrench 30-year yields have climbed nearly 50 basis points since the end of June, while Japan's once-zero 10-year yield is inching closer to 3% as inflation surges and investors grow wary of policymakers' slow response to the issue. Finance expert Nigel Green of deVere Group noted that investors are no longer assuming that government spending will be brought under control, and are instead pricing in the risk that it won't.\n\nBond selling slowed in steady Asian morning trade, but the outlook for inflation remained troubling, with Brent crude futures trading above $90 a barrel despite the lack of progress towards a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers. Later on Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve will release minutes from its July meeting, where it left interest rates unchanged. However, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh offered few hints about whether and how the central bank might respond to persistent inflation.\n\nThe US is also scheduled to sell $16 billion in 20-year debt. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 1.7%, while Japan's Nikkei fell 2.6%, following a decline on Wall Street overnight driven by tech-related losses. Asian stocks are expected to see a weekly gain as the uncertainty around US rate hikes diminishes. However, US and European stock futures slipped by about 0.1%.\n\nIn China, shares of the world's largest humanoid-robot maker, Unitree, surged 600% on its debut, a listing more than 8,000 times oversubscribed by retail investors. Despite this rally, broad technology and semiconductor stocks in Asia have faced pressure, following losses on Wall Street and reports that AI company Anthropic's annual revenue run-rate topped $65 billion by the end of July, which fell short of market expectations.\n\nThe risk-averse market sentiment has provided a slight boost to the dollar in currency markets, though changes have been modest. The Canadian dollar rose slightly after US President Donald Trump temporarily paused a 50% tariff on Canadian goods for three days, claiming a deal had been reached. The euro settled at $1.1576, while the yen traded at 159.44 per dollar, just below the 160 level that investors consider a potential trigger for another round of official intervention.\n\nUpcoming British inflation data and earnings reports from Lowe's, Target, and TJX will be closely watched following weaker-than-expected US retail sales data last week. Home Depot reported second-quarter sales and profit that exceeded estimates, benefiting from strong demand from customers for repair and maintenance services. However, US data showed homebuilding fell in July, crippled by rising mortgage rates.\n\nDebt demand is further strained by the soaring sales of AI hyperscalers. Alphabet, Google's parent company, is reportedly seeking approximately A$5 billion ($3.5 billion) through an Australian-dollar bond sale, according to Bloomberg News. \"Essentially, the marginal investor in bonds, in long-end bonds, sovereign bonds, is becoming a bit more price-sensitive at a time where there's a lot of debt issuance occurring,\" said ANZ senior rates strategist Jack Chambers.",
  "summary": "SINGAPORE: Global bond yields hovered near their highest for decades on Wednesday, as fears over swelling sovereign debt pushed borrowing costs higher and rattled stock markets worldwide. The yield on the US long bond hit its highest in nearly 20 years on Tuesday, at 5.3371%, before steadying around 5.28% in Asia on Wednesday. The 10-year and 30-year bund yields hit their highest since 2011. The…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}