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August 20, 2026 - 00:12
5 minutes
(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks were set to rebound, tracking Wall Street’s broad gains after US officials said they plan to boost buybacks of longer dated Treasuries to help ease borrowing costs following a surge in yields to near multi-decade highs.A rally in 30-year Treasuries drove yields down 10 basis points to 5.18% during the New York session, helping push the dollar to a three-month low. Gold climbed to its highest level since early June as yields fell. Oil held a four-day run of gain with US futures trading near $85 a barrel, while Bitcoin jumped as Trump pressed Congress to pass a key crypto bill as the White House hosted industry executives.US equity-index futures edged higher in early Thursday trading after most S&P 500 shares advanced on Wednesday, even as chipmakers declined. Futures for Japan, South Korea and Australia indicated gains at the open, setting up a broader regional gauge to snap two days of losses.Elevated yields have kept borrowing costs high, weighing on growth and posing a political risk for President Donald Trump and Republicans ahead of the November midterms. Bonds have sold off as investors sought greater compensation for inflation risks, leaving markets focused on whether the Treasury’s latest move can tame yields.“There is no question that the Administration has become very concerned about the bond market once again and thus they are giving it another injection of steroids,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. This is something that could “buoy risk assets over the near-term,” he added, unless investors see it as a sign of weakness.The announcement came after long-dated government yields surged globally this week, with the US 30-year yield reaching its highest level since 2007. A 10-year Treasury auction last week drew the highest financing cost for that maturity since 2007, while a 30-year sale a day later cleared at the highest yield since 2001.While the Treasury didn’t indicate how the operations would be paid for, it typically relies on issuance of bills for its fluctuating funding needs. If officials are in effect replacing longer-dated debt with short-term securities, the maneuver amounts to a version of the Federal Reserve’s “Operation Twist.”“This administration needs a win, and maybe that comes in the form of artificially trying to keep long Treasury rates contained,” said Jack McIntyre, a portfolio manager at Brandywine Global Investment Management. “They have to try something. Sentiment around the long-end globally is about as bearish as I have seen in a very long time.”US earnings season continued with several consumer-focused companies reporting results. TJX Cos. pulled back despite better-than-expected comparable sales as a new plan to ramp up store openings shook investors. Meanwhile, Target Corp. gained as the retailer lifted its full-year guidance following better-than-expected results.In Asia, traders will be watching SK Hynix Inc. after the South Korean memory-chip maker unveiled plans to buy back 40 trillion won ($29 billion) of shares and return more profits to investors. The company is seeking to stabilize its stock after a decline of more than 50% in two months.Investors are also digesting minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, which showed several officials favored raising interest rates last month and many thought further tightening may be needed if inflation failed to cool. However, uncertainty hung over the meeting as participants’ inflation outlooks were clouded by the Iran war.“Most participants anticipated that inflation would step down over the rest of the year as the effects of tariffs and earlier energy price increases wane, but many participants noted the possibility that inflation might be more persistently elevated,” the minutes said.Corporate Highlights:A personalized vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. and Merck & Co. reduced the recurrence of melanoma in a large, late-stage trial, raising expectations for treating the deadliest form of skin cancer and showing the promise of the embattled mRNA technology. Moderna shares spiked by a record 177%, though the stock remains well short of its Covid-era highs. Merck climbed 13%. Marvell Technology Inc. has agreed to give Alphabet Inc.’s Google rights to buy as much as $12.2 billion of its shares in exchange for purchasing chips. Estée Lauder Cos.’s results beat estimates and ended a run of three straight declines in annual revenue, a sign the beauty conglomerate’s turnaround efforts are gaining momentum. Some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures were little changed as of 7:08 a.m. Tokyo time Hang Seng futures rose 0.9% S&P/ASX 200 futures rose 0.3% CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.8% The euro was little changed at $1.1679 The Japanese yen was little changed at 158.07 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7309 per dollar The Australian dollar was unchanged at $0.7125 CryptocurrenciesBitcoin rose 0.8% to $69,617.29 Ether rose 2.7% to $2,277.79 CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude was little changed Spot gold rose 0.1% to $4,520.87 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
