Asian equities made early trading gains on Thursday after a mixed session Wall Street buoyed by expectations of a U.S. stimulus package even as political events in Washington culminated in the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
U.S. Treasury yields posted their first full-session decline in 2021 after rising for six straight sessions as investors eyed more spending by the incoming U.S. administration.
The benchmark S&P 500 had closed slightly higher driven by rate-sensitive defensive sectors such as utilities and real estate, while economically sensitive cyclical sectors lagged.
"There this push-pull relationship between what happens in the bond market and equity markets," said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist at Allianz Investment Management.
"Bond yields have risen in prospect of more stimulus spending and if yields continue to rise to there's going to be some pressure on equity markets."
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