Most Asian markets lost ground on Thursday, as oil prices rose, but failed to recoup all of their overnight losses.
The Nikkei 225 retreated 87.57 points, or 0.4%, to 19,994.06
The Hang Seng Index fell 56.75 points, or 0.2%, to 25,465.22
The 30-year Japanese government bond (JGB) yield rose to 0.893 percent, its highest level since February 23, with media outlets attributing the move to increased expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB), the Fed and other central banks will be tightening policy.
That would make those country's bond yields more attractive to investors than the lower-yielding JGBs. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
Shares of Hong Kong-listed Geely reversed earlier gains to trade down 0.4%. That came after Volvo, which was acquired by Geely in 2010, announced that cars launched by the brand from 2019 would all be electric or hybrid models.
Australian markets also tumbled, as weakness in the heavily weighted financials sub-index was offset by gains in the health-care sub-index.
The U.S. dollar was steady against the yen, with the greenback fetching 113.27 yen.
The Australian dollar slipped to trade at $0.7598 despite positive trade surplus figures in May. That was below the $0.76 handle seen over the past week, but off a session low of $0.7582.
Media reports said Australia's trade surplus had widened in May due to a recovery in coal exports. May's surplus rose to A$2.47 billion ($1.88 billion U.S.), compared with the A$1.1-billion forecast
In other markets
The CSI 300 inched up 0.42 points to 3,660.10
In Taiwan, the Taiex index settled 36.59 points, or 0.4%, to 10,368.20
In Korea, the Kospi index dipped 0.54 points to 2,387.81
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 22.37 points, or 0.7%, to 3,226.34
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 advanced 33.95 points, or 0.5%, to 7,629.62
In Australia, the ASX 200 slid 4.49 points, or 0.1%, to 5,758.76
