Asian shares eased on Thursday, while bonds soared after speculations that the U.S. Federal reserve will add stimulus measures to shore up the economy.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid 0.3%. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.1%, while Chinese blue chips slipped 0.4%.
S&P 500 dropped 0.53%, while its e-mini futures lost 0.4%. The Dow was down 1.04%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.67%.
The Fed forecasted that the U.S. economy will contract by 6.5% for the year, while unemployment would remain at 9.3% at year’s end.
Chairman Jerome Powell confirmed that the Fed was considering yield curve control and emphasized that economic recovery would be a long road.
10-year Treasuries fell 9 basis points on Wednesday, its sharpest fall in two months. It fell 0.72% on Thursday.