30-Year U.S. Yield Nears 5.20% Ahead of Nvidia, UK CPI

The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield moved toward 5.20%, putting pressure on equity markets as investors awaited Nvidia's quarterly results and UK inflation readings that precede the Bank of England's next policy decision. Higher long-term yields and currency strains in Asia intensified selling in growth-linked stocks and regional benchmarks.

U.S. equities fell for a third session, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average down about 0.7% and the Nasdaq off roughly 0.8%. The long end of the U.S. curve reached levels not seen since 2007. Futures now price better-than-even odds of a Federal Reserve rate increase later this year, altering prior market expectations for rate cuts. Options activity around Nvidia's report implied a potential post‑earnings market-cap swing near $350 billion.

In the United Kingdom, consumer and producer price data for April were scheduled ahead of the Bank of England's policy meetings. April payrolls showed a 100,000 decline, a move that contrasts with persistently elevated inflation readings. The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee minutes due this week added another data point market participants planned to monitor.

Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed. South Korea's KOSPI plunged about 3.3% on rising risk-free rates and hardware supply-chain concerns. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell near 1.2%, Australia's ASX 200 slipped by roughly 0.8%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined about 0.6%. China A50 ticked up around 0.2%. Singapore's Straits Times Index earlier climbed to a record high supported by dividend stocks but was trading lower at the open amid profit-taking.

Currency moves intensified. The Japanese yen slid past 159 per U.S. dollar, prompting Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama at the G7 meeting to state that Tokyo is ‘fully prepared to step back in to defend the currency.' Market contacts estimate Japan has deployed roughly 10 trillion yen since late April to stem the decline. India's rupee extended losses for a sixth consecutive session, closing near a record low of 96.52 per dollar.

In commodities, Brent and WTI crude oil rose about 1% over the prior day. Non-yielding precious metals fell on higher real yields, with spot gold down about 1.8% and silver off roughly 5%. Technical indicators showed gold breaking below a one-month range, with intermediate support levels identified near $4,415 and $4,319 and short-term resistance around $4,580.

Policy developments included U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging allied action to disrupt Iran-related financing networks and announcing a review of U.S. sanctions lists to help financial institutions identify complex financing schemes. Remarks from some U.S. officials about progress in talks with Iran briefly reduced oil-related geopolitical risk.

Market participants said they would watch Nvidia's earnings, the UK inflation prints and the FOMC minutes closely, along with volatility measures and bond market moves, for indications of near-term shifts in equity valuations and investor positioning.