Global shares slip as investors register their worries about U.S. debt
[May 22, 2025] By
YURI KAGEYAMA
TOKYO (AP) — Global shares fell Thursday as investors reacted to growing
worries over surging U.S. debt.
France's CAC 40 slipped 0.8% to 7,849.87, while Germany's DAX declined
0.7% to 23,962.00. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.7% to 8,728.84.
The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched 0.1% lower while
that for the S&P 500 gained nearly 0.2%.
In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 0.8% to finish at
36,985.87.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.2% to 23,544.31, while the Shanghai
Composite edged down 0.2% to 3,380.19.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.5% to 8,348.70. South Korea's Kospi
dropped 1.2% to 2,593.67.
Shares skidded Wednesday on Wall Street after the U.S. government
released the results for its latest auction of 20-year bonds. Such bonds
help to pay government bills and the auction had to offer a yield of
more than 5% to attract enough buyers.
The S&P 500 fell 1.6% for a second straight drop after breaking a
six-day winning streak. The Dow lost 1.9%, while the Nasdaq composite
sank 1.4%.
Rising yields for U.S. Treasury bonds are a canary in the coal mine,
Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
“The U.S. still has the biggest markets, the deepest liquidity, and the
dollar’s inertia working in its favor. But even inertia can’t outrun
compound interest and structural deficits forever,” he wrote.
The declining U.S. dollar also weighed on Asian regional markets,
according to some analysts, because some Asian nations have significant
holdings in dollars. It also affects Asian exporters, such as Japanese
automakers and electronics companies, by reducing the value of their
overseas earnings when they are converted into yen.
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A currency trader works near a screen showing the Korea Composite
Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, and the foreign exchange
rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the
foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in
Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
 In currency trading, the U.S. dollar
fell to 143.04 Japanese yen from 143.68 yen. It had been trading at
150 yen levels a year ago. The euro stood unchanged at $1.1330.
Investors remain worried over President Donald Trump's actions,
including tariff policies that directly affect Asian companies and
decisions on major legislation such as a funding bill now in
Congress.
“U.S. equities slumped in a ‘Sell America’ move as things turned
ugly on Trump’s ‘big, beautiful tax bill.’ ” said Tan Jing Yi,
analyst at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.
U.S. stocks had recently recovered most of their steep losses from
earlier in the year after Trump delayed or rolled back many of his
stiff tariffs. Investors are hopeful that Trump will lower his
tariffs more permanently after reaching trade deals with other
countries.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 55 cents to $61.02 a
barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 61 cents to
$64.30 a barrel.
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