Stocks were mixed and U.S. equity futures edged lower Friday after a decline on Wall Street as investors mulled the impact of the recent climb in Treasury yields on the market outlook.
Oil added to recent losses with Brent the international benchmark trading at $63.27 a barrel.
A gauge of global shares headed for its first weekly fall since January, with Australia lagging in Asia while South Korea outperformed. S&P 500 futures dipped after the index declined Thursday. European contracts pointed higher.
A report showing U.S. initial jobless claims rose more than expected underlined the challenges for the recovery from the pandemic. Ten-year Treasury yields held an advance. The dollar fluctuated.
Japan’s 10-year sovereign bond yield rose to the highest in more than two years amid the global debt selloff.
The pound dipped after a rally driven by optimism over the U.K. vaccine rollout. Bitcoin fell back below $52,000. Copper extended a rise to a nine-year high.
Benchmark Treasury yields at the highest in a year stirred a debate on whether a further jump might trigger a shake-out in risk assets.
Recent economic data are a reminder of the fragility of the growth backdrop, with much depending on the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated the need for $1.9 trillion in pandemic-relief spending.
“There are so many assets that are priced on really low rates forever,” Evan Brown, head of multi-asset strategy at UBS Asset Management, said on Bloomberg TV.
“As soon as you do get a hint of this idea that long-term rates are not going to be zero forever, then those are going to be the most vulnerable assets.”
US Oil grade WTI fell below $60 a barrel as wells slowly restarted in Texas after being hit by a big freeze.
The White House said it would be willing to meet with Iran, potentially paving the way for more crude exports from the Persian Gulf nation. Elsewhere, gold slid amid its worst start to a year in three decades.
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