Mount Fuji and buildings in the Shinjuku district are reflected on a table at an observation deck in Tokyo, Japan, on December 24, 2013.
Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were broadly weaker Wednesday, with Korean and Japanese stocks posting a more than 2% drop after the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield hit its highest level in 16 years.
South Korea's Kospi fell 2.41% to close at 2,405.69 and the Kosdaq slipped 4% to end at 807.4 after returning from holiday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 shed 2.28% to close at 30,526.88, the lowest since late May while the Topix traded 2.49% lower to close at 2,218.89.
Australia's fell 0.77% to close at 6,890.2, while Hong Kong'sHang Seng indexsank another 0.94% to its lowest since late November, extending losses from Tuesday's 3% tumble.
China's markets remain closed for a weeklong holiday.
Overnight in the U.S., all three indexes recorded losses. TheDow Jones Industrial Averagelost 430.97 points, or 1.29%, marking its worst day since March. Theslid 1.37% while theNasdaq Compositedropped 1.87%.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was last up 11 basis points to 4.793%, after climbing to 4.8% on Tuesday. The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield rose as high 4.924%, also the highest since 2007.
— CNBC's Jeff Cox, Hakyung Kim and Sophie Kiderlin contributed to this report.
Thai tourism and leisure shares sink after Bangkok mall shooting
The Stock Exchange of Thailand's Tourism and Leisure Index was down by as much as about 3.8% on Wednesday, a day after two foreigners were killed in a shooting at a downtown Bangkok mall popular with tourists.
Central Plaza Hotel, a constituent stock on the SET Tourism and Leisure Index, was down around 2.7% in early trading and a standout underperformer, with the broader SET composite index down 0.6%.
— Clement Tan
Korean stocks sink 2%, dragged by technology and distribution sectors
South Korea's Kospi dropped over 2%, weighed down by electronics and consumer services stocks.
Leading the index's losses is travel agency Lotte Tour Development, which plunged 11.3%. Hotel Shilla sank 6.61%.
Cosmetics companies ABLE C&C and Hankook Cosmetics fell 10.33% and 7.71% respectively.
South Korea's electronics stocks were also in the red. Samsung Electronics dropped 2.19%, while SK Hynix slipped 0.44%. Kakao was down 3.53%, and Naver dropped 3.18%.
—Lee Ying Shan
Yen strengthens after touching weakest levels in a year
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The Japanese yen strengthened against the greenback after briefly touching 150 overnight.
In response to reporter questions, Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said he will not comment on whether or not there was any intervention to prop up the yen. He added that Japan will take steps against any dramatic moves in the currency "without ruling out any options."
Yen strengthens after touching 150-levels
The yen is currently trading at 149.18 against the U.S. dollar.
The last time Tokyo intervened to buy yen was in September and November 2022 when the currency sank to a 32-year low.
— Lee Ying Shan
New Zealand central bank leaves rates unchanged
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left its key interest rate unchanged at 5.5%.
The central bank noted that the country's growth outlook remains subdued even though GDP growth in the June quarter was stronger than forecast. New Zealand's GDP rose 3.2% over the year ended June compared to the same period last year.
"The Committee agreed that the Official Cash Rate needs to stay at a restrictive level to ensure that annual consumer price inflation returns to the 1 to 3% target range and to support maximum sustainable employment," a statement released by the bank said.
The last traded down 1.13%.
—Lee Ying Shan
Jeffrey Gundlach says the bond market is sending recession warning
DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlachdirected investors to a phenomenon in the bond market, which he believes marks a recession warning.
The spread between the 2-year and 10-year Treasury yields tightened to 35 basis points, compared to a gap of 108 basis points a few months ago, Gundlach pointed out. This "de-inverting" of the key part of the yield curve could be a tell-tale sign that an economic downturn is imminent.
"Should put everyone on recession warning, not just recession watch," Gundlach said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. "If the unemployment rate ticks up just a couple of tenths it will be recession alert. Buckle up."
The 2-year and 10-year Treasury yield curve initially inverted in March 2022, a phenomenon that has historically been a reliable recession predictor. It typically takes nearly two years for a recession to occur.
— Yun Li
CNBC Pro: Is it time to buy Telsa? Two investors present the bull and bear case
Shares in Elon Musk's Tesla have been on a tear this year — and whether or not it's a buying opportunity continues to divide investors.
The EV giant's stock fundamentals are "completely disconnected from reality," according to one investor, while another insists its "business is intact."
Is now the time to buy? CNBC Pro subscribers can read what the pros think here.
— Amala Balakrishner
CNBC Pro: Cashing in on India? Citi says this sector is a better bet than tech — and names its top stock picks
Citi named two stocks as its "top picks" in the Indian stock market, which it believes are relatively immune to an uncertain global economic outlook.
The Wall Street bank expects shares of one of those stocks to rise by 26% over the next 12 months.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
CNBC Pro: 'Fertile ground': Goldman names stocks to tap a $6 trillion renewables market, gives one 58% upside
The use of "green" electricity as an energy source is set to rise — and that could save consumers some money, according to Goldman Sachs.
It said the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and the European Union's RePowerEU plan combined could mobilize nearly $6 trillion of capital in clean energy over the next 10 years.
Goldman named some buy-rated stocks as being among the "most interesting names":
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Weizhen Tan
Volatility index briefly climbs above 20 to highest since late May
The Cboe Volatility Index briefly touched 20.07 in late morning trading on Tuesday, rising above 20 for the first time since late May.
The VIX, derived from stock options prices and measuring expected volatility over the next 30 days, is often regarded as a sentiment indicator since low readings are associated with investor complacency and high readings with fear and skittishness.
Cboe Volatility Index over the past 3 months.
— Scott Schnipper, Gina Francolla
Gold falls for the seventh consecutive session
Gold continued its steep sell-off on Tuesday, notching its longest losing streak since August 2022 as concerns about higher-for-longer interest rates weighed on the market.
Spot gold was recently down 0.4% at $1,819.50 per ounce, falling for a seventh consecutive session to its lowest since March 9. U.S. gold futures shed 0.6% to $1,835.60.
— Pia Singh
U.S. 10-year yield spikes after economic data reveals labor market still going strong
The yield on the U.S. 10-year benchmark Treasury jumped this morning, after the August Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey revealed an unexpected surge in employment vacancies.
The U.S. 10-year yield spiked over 8 basis points to as high as 4.766% before edging back down, setting a new 16-year record. This is the highest the yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year note has climbed since August 15, 2007, when it reached 4.752%.
Stocks simultaneously sold off upon the news.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Correction: The 10-year Treasury yield hit its highest level in 16 years. A previous version of this post misstated the milestone.
