Asia report: Japan shares fall further as bond yields rise

19th Nov 2025 09:34

(Sharecast News) - Asia-Pacific equities closed mostly lower on Wednesday as the region tracked a tech-led sell-off on Wall Street and investors remained cautious over stretched artificial intelligence valuations.

Patrick Munnelly at TickMill said "risk sentiment remains subdued ahead of Nvidia's earnings report, a pivotal moment for market stability, as worries over lofty valuations triggered a selloff that erased nearly $1.6trn from global markets."

US equity futures were steady during Asian trading after another weak session in New York, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.07%, the S&P 500 lost 0.83% and the Nasdaq Composite slid 1.21%.

The declines extended a multi-day retreat across major US benchmarks, with the S&P 500 posting its fourth consecutive loss and the Nasdaq recording its fifth negative session in six days.

Bitcoin briefly fell below $90,000, highlighting softer risk appetite.

As Munnelly noted, "Bitcoin saw a slight uptick on Tuesday after plunging to a seven-month low below $90,000, attracting bargain hunters in a market where many investors remain cautious about taking on excessive risk exposure.

"Asian trading desks have once again shunned exposure to the digital benchmark as it retests pivotal support at the $90,000 level as European markets come online."

Tokyo shares fall, bond yields rise

Japan's markets weakened as higher government bond yields and pressure on technology stocks weighed on sentiment.

The Nikkei 225 slipped 0.34% to 48,537.70 after semiconductor-related names led early losses; Sumco fell 6.26%, Disco declined 3.43% and Toppan Holdings dropped 3.26%.

Advantest fell more than 4% in early trade before trimming losses to finish 0.57% lower, while Renesas slid 3.02%.

The Topix eased 0.17% to 3,245.58.

Bond yields rose across the curve, with the 10-year JGB yield up about two basis points to 1.759%, its highest since 2007.

Munnelly said Japanese fixed income remained fragile, noting that "Japanese bonds showed some recovery after a 20-year government bond auction revealed lingering caution among investors over potential oversupply, especially with prime minister Takaichi preparing to unveil his first economic stimulus plan."

Despite the broader pressure, core machinery orders surprised to the upside, rising 4.2% month-on-month in September to JPY 927.8bn, driven by a 23.3% jump in manufacturing activity.

On an annual basis, orders grew 11.6%, reinforcing their role as a leading indicator of future capital investment.

Chinese markets were mixed - the Shanghai Composite added 0.18% to close at 3,946.74, supported by strong gains in select mid-cap names, including Dahu Aquaculture, Guosheng Shian Technology and Fujian Tianma Science and Technology Group, all up around 10%.

The Shenzhen Component was broadly flat at 13,080.09, edging down 0.003%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.38% to 25,830.65 as weakness in technology shares persisted.

Xiaomi retreated 4.81%, Techtronic Industries slipped 2.83% and electric-vehicle maker Li Auto lost 2.6%.

South Korea's Kospi fell 0.61% to 3,929.51, with several stocks experiencing steep declines.

SBW slumped 67.1%, Koas dropped 29.87% and NCsoft fell 14.61% amid broad selling pressure.

Sydney, Wellington both in the red

Down under, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.25% to 8,447.90, weighed down by sharp losses in DroneShield, which fell 19.59%, alongside declines in Megaport and Guzman Y Gomez.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 slipped 0.12% to 13,326.90, with Serko down 3.92%, Synlait Milk off 2.78% and SkyCity Entertainment Group weaker by 2.4%.

Dollar strengthens on regional peers

In currencies, the dollar strengthened across the region, rising 0.44% against the yen to JPY 156.19, up 0.36% versus the Aussie to AUD 1.5422, and gaining 0.56% against the New Zealand dollar to NZD 1.7773.

Oil prices eased, with Brent crude futures last down 1.09% on ICE at $64.18, and the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate dipping 1.1% to $60.07.

Munnelly said "oil prices dipped slightly as data indicating rising US stockpiles helped ease concerns about the effects of Western sanctions on Russia," adding that "gold steadied after recent fluctuations."

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.