Asian equity markets experienced a wave of relief following a bond rout on Thursday, October 5, 2023. This was notably reflected in the performance of Japan's Nikkei index, which rallied by 1.80%, outperforming Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and Australia's ASX 200.
The decrease in US Treasury yields, driven by a series of US economic indicators, led to an increased demand for riskier assets. These indicators also influenced the performance of US equity markets and US Treasury yields, despite an early surge on Thursday.
However, the ASX 200 failed to maintain an extended rally despite positive Australian trade data. The index was affected by Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO)'s 1.51% fall and Westpac Banking (ASX:WBC) (NYSE:WBK) Corp's 1.30% rally.
Friday brought attention to Australian retail sales and Japan's household spending metrics, along with rising jobless claims. Despite these economic indicators, SoftBank (TYO:9984) Group Corp on Tokyo Stock Exchange (TYO:9984) saw a modest 0.13% increase.
Meanwhile, Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group Holding Ltd on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:BABA) experienced a 0.49% fall. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also recorded a slight drop of 0.03%.
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