Investing.com - Markets across the Asian-Pacific faced a turbulent open on Wednesday, as the surge in US yields coupled with encouraging employment data revived speculation about potential rate hikes.
By 12:00pm AEDT (01:00am GMT) Australian shares saw a decline of 43.6 points or 0.6%, hitting fresh six-month lows. The Korean KOSPI 200 and Japanese Nikkei 225 weren't spared either, experiencing drops of 2% and 1.6% respectively.
US markets posted significant losses during Tuesday's overnight trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.3%, while the S&P 500 declined 1.4% and the technology-skewed NASDAQ Composite down 1.9%.
In the commodities market, Brent crude oil saw a modest increase of 0.4%, while gold remained steady. The yield on Australian 2-year government bonds rose to 4.09%, with the 10-year yield also increasing to 4.54%. US Treasury notes followed a similar trend, with the 2-year yield reaching 5.15% and the 10-year yield hitting 4.8%.
In currency markets, the Australian dollar gained 0.1%, while the Thai Baht fell 0.1% and the Korean Won saw a 0.3% increase.
Hong Kong shares plummeted following the National Day holiday, while Chinese markets remained closed. The Hang Seng Index closed 2.7% lower, while the Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index fell 3.6%.
Japanese stocks also suffered, with energy and auto stocks leading the decline amid growing concerns about policy tightening by central banks and increased borrowing costs. India's benchmark Sensex fell 0.5%, primarily due to losses in auto and financial stocks.
Among European markets, the STOXX 600, CAC 40, and DAX each declined roughly 1% apiece, while the FTSE 100 dipped 0.5%.
Positive job openings data for August indicated a resilient labor market. However, it also sparked concerns about further rate hikes, leading to broad market losses. Among the losers were shares of WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG), which dropped 16% following the spin-off of its snacks business, and spice company McCormick & Company Incorporated (NYSE:MKC), which fell 8.5% due to disappointing fiscal third-quarter sales.