Asian shares turn cautious, yen hits 40-year lows

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan held steady

Asian share markets started the new quarter in a cautious mood on Wednesday as talks between Iran and U.S. hit new hurdles, while investors were ​on alert for possible Japanese intervention as the yen hit new 40-year lows.

Tehran said on Tuesday it would not meet with U.S. envoys who ‌had flown to the region, with the two sides still far apart on a framework that would fully open the Strait of Hormuz.

Nikkei jumped ​another 1.0%, having soared 37% last quarter. The rush for tech helped boost sentiment pushing big manufacturers to heights not seen since 2018, according to a survey out on Wednesday.

A separate ​survey showed manufacturing had boasted its best quarter since 2014 as new orders surged.

South Korea’s main index slid 1.4%, having risen 68% in the second quarter on booming AI-related demand for semiconductors. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan held steady.

Elsewhere, EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures were flat, while FTSE futures slipped 0.2%.

S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both eased 0.1%, after making solid gains overnight.

Bond markets were also under pressure after U.S. Treasury yields spiked overnight as futures narrowed the odds on rate hikes from the country’s central bank ahead of crucial jobs figures on Thursday.

U.S. central bank Chair Kevin Warsh is also in focus when he appears at a European Central Bank conference later in the ​session, for any guidance on the need for a tightening.

Unfortunately for traders, Warsh has long been against the central bank providing forward guidance and may keep his policy cards ​close to his chest.