Japan is a case in point, with the Nikkei starting the day by tumbling as much as 2.5% before entering the midday break in the green. Gains of nearly 0.9% for the yen versus the dollar evaporated over the same period.
And while tech was still a standout underperformer across the region following Wednesday’s more than 1% slump for the Nasdaq Composite an early slide as steep as 1.3% for Nasdaq futures had flipped to a 0.4% advance.
There was no obvious trigger. Likely more along the lines of the sky having not fallen yet, giving some people courage to scoop up potential bargains.
Bond investors spooked by Wednesday’s poor 10-year Treasury auction sent the yield spiking nearly 9 basis points to 3.977% overnight, but more than half of that move was unwound in early Thursday trading.
Worries about a U.S. hard landing, a massive unwind of yen carry trades, fears of an AI bubble: there is a long and compelling list of reasons to hit the eject button on bets that possibly soared too close to the sun.
