Asian Stocks Slide as Bond Stress Spreads, BTC and Gold Shine

Asian stock markets struggled this week as bond market stress spread across the region. Japan's Nikkei dropped as much as 4.4% before clawing back a little, mirroring US indexes that fell hard on Thursday after Treasury rate relief faded.

The sell-off was sparked by rising Treasury yields, which resumed climbing after a brief pause. The 30-year yield rose to 5.25%, and the 10-year hit 4.71%. Secretary Scott Bessent said the government could expand bond repurchases, but analysts doubt Washington can find enough spending cuts to narrow the deficit.

Despite the turmoil in traditional markets, Bitcoin (BTC) and gold rallied as safe havens. Bitcoin traded near $74,300 after touching an intraday high of $75,500, while gold held near $4,513 an ounce, up 3.1% for the week.