Asian Stocks Split: Nikkei Drops 1.2% as US Yields Hit 19-Year High, KOSPI Steady

Asian stocks fell Tuesday as rising oil prices and a global bond selloff lifted financing costs, but the damage was uneven. Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped about 1.2% to 65,070.58, while South Korea's KOSPI slipped just 0.2% to around 6,877. The contrast reflected different starting points: Japanese shares faced broad selling, while Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix recovered after both fell over 5% on Monday. The common threat was rates, with the 10-year US Treasury yield briefly exceeding 5.27%, a 19-year high, and Brent trading near $106.60 per barrel. The Nikkei's weakness was widespread, with 199 components falling and only 26 rising. Japan's 10-year government bond yield climbed to about 3.09%, near multi-decade highs. Elsewhere, China's CSI 300 stayed near a one-year low, and Australia's central bank raised its rate to 4.6%, the highest since 2011.