BANGKOK – Asian shares skidded Friday, with Tokyo's benchmark dropping 4% after rising bond yields triggered a broad sell-off on Wall Street that handed the Nasdaq composite index its steepest one-day loss since October.
Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney all fell 2% or more in early trading Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 3.5% on Thursday while the S&P 500 dropped 2.4%, led lower by heavy selling in technology and communications companies.
The sell-off gained momentum when the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note moved above 1.5%, a level not seen in more than a year and far above the 0.92% it was trading at only two months ago.