Hong Kong

Europeanshares opened lower on Thursday after an advance in Asia, where South Korea’s benchmark Kospi jumped nearly 6 per cent. US futures edged lower after the US Treasury Department said it would at least double the size of planned purchases of longer-term government debt.

That could ease pressure on share prices coming from the bond market since the purchases would push bond prices higher, helping to bring down yields. Germany’s DAX fell 0.6 per cent to 25,938.92, while the CAC 40 in Paris slipped 0.1 per cent to 8,491.06. Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.3 per cent to 10,713.50.

In Asian trading, the Kospi surged 5.9 per cent to 6,852.58. It tumbled 5.8 per cent on Wednesday on renewed selling of shares related to artificial intelligence. Samsung Electronics jumped 9.5 per cent, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix surged 12.7 per cent after the company announced a significant share buyback plan.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.4 per cent to 66,216.79, reversing declines earlier in the week. Japan reported it logged a trade deficit for a third straight month in July, as both imports and exports hit record highs. Shares of OpenAI investor SoftBank Group, a multinational investment holding firm and one of Japan’s biggest companies, added 3.1 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.8 per cent to 25,698.49, while the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.2 per cent to 3,903.72. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.3 per cent to 9,083.80. Taiwan’s Taiex added 0.5 per cent and India’s Sensex climbed 0.7 per cent.

Yields on US government bonds fell after the Treasury Department’s announcement on its expanded plans for government debt buybacks. Bond yields fall when bond prices rise in an inverse relation. The move appeared to mollify investors worried over rising yields. On Wednesday, the benchmark S&P 500 climbed 0.2 per cent for its first gain in four days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2 per cent and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite also rose 0.2 per cent.

Yields have risen in recent months over growing concerns about inflation stemming from the monthslong war in Iran and ballooning government debt, among other factors. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury fell to nearly 4.65 per cent from 4.71 per cent on Tuesday, although it’s still well above its levels from before the start of the war in Iran. The 30-year Treasury yield fell to around 5.19 per cent on Thursday, from 5.28 per cent on Tuesday.

In Asia, bond yields also eased after the US Treasury’s announcement. Japan’s 10-year government bond yield fell to around 2.85 per cent from 2.95 per cent on Tuesday. It has been trading near 30-year highs.

In other dealings early Thursday, oil prices gained as there was little progress made in US-Iran negotiations over the war. Brent crude, the international standard, surged 2.2 per cent to $93.61 a barrel. It was trading at roughly $72 per barrel before the war. US benchmark crude jumped 2.1 per cent to $86.20 a barrel.

The US dollar rose to 158.53 Japanese yen from 158.16 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1683, down from $1.1677.