Stocks in Tokyo drop more than twelve hundred points

Lola Evans
26 Feb 2021, 16:39 GMT+10

"The bond market is signalling disbelief that the Fed could continue keeping rates at such low levels in the face of a recovering economy."
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 plunged 1,201.26 points or 3.99 percent to 28,966.01.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong tumbled 1,030.98 points or 3.43 percent to close at 29,043.19.

SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Shares across Asia were slammed on Friday sending the major indices tumbling.

"The bond market is signalling disbelief that the Fed could continue keeping rates at such low levels in the face of a recovering economy and rising commodity costs," analysts at OCBC wrote in a note. According to Reuters, they warned that further turmoil in equity markets was expected if bond yields continued rising as investors look to rebalance their portfolios.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 plunged 1,201.26 points or 3.99 percent to 28,966.01.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong tumbled 1,030.98 points or 3.43 percent to close at 29,043.19.

The Australian All Ordinaries fell to a six-months low, shedding 165.00 points or 2.30 percent to 6,941.00.

China's Shanghai Composite declined 75.97 points or 2.12 percent to 3,509.08.

The U.S. dollar was sharply higher against a range of currencies. The Australian dollar which had hit a 3-year high in the previous 24 hours at 0.8007, dropped heavily to 0.7840 around the Sydney close Friday.

The British pound slid to 1.3950. The euro was steady at 1.2158. The Japanese yen edged down to 106.19. The Swiss franc was unchanged at 0.9056.

The Canadian dollar softened to 1.2609. The New Zealand dollar fell to 0.7349. The New Zealand stock market was the only bourse in Asia Pacific region to make a gain for the day.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite led the way Thursday with a 478.54 points or 3.52 percent scalping, to end the day at 13,119.43.

The Dow Jones dived 559.85 points or 1.75 percent to 31,402.01.

The Standard and Poor's 500 dropped 96.10 points or 2.45 percent to 3,829.33.