United News of Bangladesh

Asian stock markets fell sharply on Wednesday, following losses on Wall Street and a growing global sell-off in government bonds. U.S. futures also moved lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 3% to 64,278.95, while shares of SoftBank Group fell 6.3%. South Korea's Kospi lost 3.6%, with Samsung Electronics down 3.3% and memory chipmaker SK Hynix falling 3.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.8%, while China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.9%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.1%, and Taiwan's Taiex lost 1.5%. The decline followed a weak session on Wall Street on Tuesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite lost 1%. Major technology companies were among the biggest losers, with Nvidia falling 1.5%, Amazon down 1.9% and Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD, dropping 2.4%. Meanwhile, oil prices continued to rise after the United States launched another round of military strikes on Iran, which responded by firing missiles and drones across the region. The conflict between the two countries has now entered its sixth month, increasing concerns over global energy supplies. The Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil shipments, remains largely closed. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 1% to $95.56 a barrel. U.S. benchmark crude gained 0.7% to $90.88 a barrel. The global bond sell-off also intensified as concerns grew over persistent inflation and rising government debt, particularly in the United States. Bond yields rise when bond prices fall. Investors are demanding higher returns as they become more concerned about inflation, government borrowing and other risks. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose to around 4.80%, up from 4.75% on Monday. It had been as low as 4.20% in January. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which is more closely linked to expectations for U.S. interest rates, climbed to about 4.40% from 4.34%. In Japan, the yield on the 10-year government bond rose to around 3.02%, its highest level since 1996. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 160.27 Japanese yen from 160.17 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1578 from $1.1593.