Asian stocks mostly edged higher on Friday as investors assessed the US Treasury's move to push down long-term bond yields while analysts warned that alone would not be enough to keep borrowing costs from spiking.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index opened up 109 points, or 0.42 percent, at 25,807.

The China Enterprises Index rose 31 points, or 0.37 percent, to 8,579 while the tech index inched up nine points, or 0.21 percent, to 4,710.

Across the border, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened down 12 points, or 0.32 percent, at 3,891.

The Shenzhen Component Index slid 37 points, or 0.27 percent, lower to 13,935 while the ChiNext Index was flat at 3,495.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei opened 789 points, or 1.19 percent, down at 65,427 before clawing back losses to hover 271 points, or 0.41 percent, at 65,945 at one stage before the midday mark.

In Seoul, the Kospi rebounded to be 52 points, or 0.77 percent, up at 6,905 after opening 92 points, or 1.35 percent, lower at 6,759.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's pledge that he had more tools to provide support did little to comfort markets as sceptical Wall Street investors resumed their selling amid concerns over elevated inflation and government borrowing, among other things.

The lack of progress on reopening the Strait of Hormuz added to unease on trading floors, with oil prices gradually rising over the past two weeks as the United States and Iran remain deadlocked.

The US Treasury plan to "at least double" its sovereign bond buybacks, a day after the 30-year yield surged to levels last seen in 2007 just before the global financial crisis, sent long-term rates plunging but they rebounded on Thursday, with Mark Malek, of Muriel Siebert & Co, calling it "a housekeeping move destined to be short-term, at best".

Bessent told CNBC on Thursday that his department had a "big toolkit" to address a rise in yields that it views as unmoored to financial conditions. Such measures could include increased bond purchases beyond the scale announced the day before.

He added that inflation – which has been running above the US Federal Reserve's two percent target for more than five years – would ease once the United States gets "on the other side" of the Iran war and oil prices retreat.

The increase in yields weighed on Wall Street, where all three main indexes fell as tech firms – which rely on debt to fund their huge investments – dropped although Asia fared better. (AFP & Xinhua)


Edited by Aaron Tam