Asian shares track Wall Street higher, Treasury yields near multi-decade highs

SYDNEY: Asian stocks rose on Tuesday after a tech-fuelled rally lifted the Nasdaq to a record close, with a retreat in oil prices ​offering further support even as longer-dated Treasury yields hovered near multi-decade highs.

The euro languished near 17-month lows after briefly touching $1.116 ‌overnight, pressured by mounting fiscal concerns in France. Investors dumped French government bonds after an underwhelming budget, while political uncertainty deepened after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap election.

Brent crude was little changed at $100 a barrel after losing 1.9% overnight as exports from the Middle East increased and the Group of Seven nations pledged ​to boost supplies.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2%, while Japan’s Nikkeigained 0.7%. European stock futures climbed ​0.5%.

Nasdaq futures edged up 0.2% and S&P 500 futures rose 0.1%. The Nasdaq notched up a record close overnight, ⁠buoyed by softer-than-expected jobs data that dampened expectations for a rate hike from the Federal Reserve this month.

AI heavyweight Nvidia climbed 2.1%, reaching a ​record-high close and boosting its market value to $5.76 trillion.

“The rally in the market was tech led once again, with the marginal easing of ​interest rate uncertainty along with a slight moderation in geopolitical risk allowing market participants to focus on the extraordinary earnings growth being delivered by AI names,” said Kyle Rodda.

The third-quarter earnings season kicks off next week. Goldman Sachs estimated consensus forecasts point to 27% growth in S&P 500 earnings last quarter, with ​more than half that growth from companies benefiting from AI infrastructure spending.

Latin American markets also climbed, led by a rally in Brazilian stocks and the ​real currency, after right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro outperformed poll predictions in the first round of the presidential election and advanced to a runoff against leftist incumbent Luiz ‌Inacio Lula ⁠da Silva.

Bond rout persists

The relentless climb in Treasury yields continued even as markets scaled back bets for an interest rate rise this month from the Federal Reserve to just 23% from 71% a week ago, after top policymakers stressed the need for more data before tightening again.

US 10- and 30-year Treasury yields hit fresh 24-year highs overnight, capping a steady climb since mid-August driven by inflation and debt concerns. An ISM survey showed a ​measure of prices paid by services ​businesses for inputs jumped to ⁠the highest level in more than four years.

The 10-year Treasury yield was steady in Asia at 5.3089%, after climbing 3 basis points overnight to hit 5.3493%, the highest since 2002, while 30-year yields held at 5.6622%, ​having briefly reached 5.7029% overnight.

The selloff in French bonds calmed a little, with the premium investors demand to ​hold French 10-year ⁠bonds over safer German debt narrowing to 137 basis points on Monday.

The euro nursed losses at $1.1215, after falling as much as 0.8% to $1.116 overnight, its weakest since May 2025. It traded at 177 yen , having been down for seven straight sessions, around the lowest since November last year.

“Deep divisions in ⁠France’s parliament ​raises the risk that the proposed fiscal consolidation is diluted or that the government ​faces a no-confidence vote,” said Joseph Capurso, head of international economics at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

“EUR/USD will likely test support at 1.1109.”

That kept the US dollar firm, with the ​dollar index at 102.2 after a weekly rise of 0.9%.

Spot gold was little changed at $4,141.31 an ounce.