Asian shares rise as US stocks dip, tech and financials lead gains

Asian shares mostly advanced on Tuesday after US stocks gave back some of last week's rally, pressured by rising global bond yields.

US futures and oil prices were little changed.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.5 per cent to 49,534.36, with financial shares the biggest gainers after the governor of the central bank hinted at a possible hike to interest rates this month.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng jumped 0.7 per cent to 26,209.07, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.3 per cent to 3,902.78.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2 per cent to 8,582.80.

The Kospi in South Korea jumped 1.5 per cent to 3,977.85, led by buying of technology shares like Samsung Electronics, which surged 2.8 per cent. Chip maker SK Hynix leaped 3.4 per cent.

Taiwan's benchmark Taiex climbed 1 per cent, while the Sensex in India edged 0.1 per cent lower.

On Monday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.5 per cent and broke a five-day winning streak, closing at 6,812.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.9 per cent to 47,289.33, while the Nasdaq composite dipped 0.4 per cent to 23,275.92.

Last week's rally was largely due to rising hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate next week to help shore up the slowing job market.

Jobs are under pressure at US manufacturers, and the majority in a survey by the Institute for Supply Management said they're still focused more on managing headcount than on hiring. Several manufacturers also said tariffs are continuing to make things complicated.

Conditions are more trying than during the coronavirus pandemic in terms of supply chain uncertainty, one manufacturer told the ISM.

Yields for longer-term Treasurys rose in the bond market, part of a worldwide climb for yields after Bank of Japan Gov Kazuo Ueda indicated the central bank may raise its benchmark rate at its meeting later this month.

Japan's benchmark interest rate has remained near zero for years in hopes of reviving sluggish growth. Now inflation is holding above the Bank of Japan's target of about 2 per cent.

The prospect of the Bank of Japan resuming its hiking cycle a bit sooner than previously thought has sent tremors through global bond and equity markets this week, but we suspect they could nonetheless weather further tightening, Thomas Mathews of Capital Markets said in a commentary.

When bonds are paying higher yields, they can attract investors who would otherwise buy stocks or cryptocurrencies. Higher yields undercut prices for all kinds of investments, particularly those seen as the most expensive.

Bitcoin, which was soaring around $125,000 in October, dropped toward $85,500. That's down roughly 6 per cent from a day earlier. It was trading around $86,650 early Tuesday.

Crypto industry stocks fell, with Coinbase Global down 4.8 per cent and Robinhood Markets losing 4.1 per cent.

On the winning side of Wall Street was Synposys, which rose 4.9 per cent. It said Nvidia is investing $2 billion in its stock as part of an expanded partnership. Nvidia, which has become Wall Street's most influential stock, swung from an early loss to a gain of 1.6 per cent.

The markets had a mixed reaction to what seems like a strong start for the holiday shopping season. Consumer spending during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday retailing bonanza was expected to exceed expectations, despite uncertainty over the outlook for the US economy.

Williams-Sonoma climbed 1.3 per cent, but Best Buy fell 2.6 per cent.

In Europe, France's CAC 40 slipped 0.3 per cent on Monday, dragged down in part by a 5.8 per cent loss for Airbus.

The European aerospace giant said Monday that most of its fleet of 6,000 A320 passenger jets have received an update after a weekend software glitch that could have affected flight controls.

Travellers faced minor disruptions as airlines scrambled to push the software updates out after Airbus warned of the problem Friday.

In other dealings early Tuesday, US benchmark crude oil gained 2 cents to $59.34 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 4 cents to $63.13 pert barrel.

The dollar rose to 155.61 Japanese yen from 155.41 yen. The euro climbed to $1.1612 from $1.1608.