The ASX 200 retreated 54 points or 0.8% to 6,707 in late trade on Friday, falling for the second straight session and tracking another pullback on Wall Street overnight as the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose again. Meantime, the Federal Reserve acknowledged that the development in the bond market was something that was notable but the central bank is unlikely to step up its pace of bond buying. On the pandemic front, Australia reportedly has asked the European Commission to review a decision by Italy to block a shipment of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. Nearly all major sectors were in the red, driven by basic materials, consumer staples, and industrials. The technology sector also fell, tracking its US peers. Lynas Rare Earths sank 6% after warning that there was a risk of overbuilding mines and processing facilities, amid concerns about a Chinese export embargo. Clinuvel Pharmaceutical tumbled 5.9% following downbeat earnings reports.

The PSE Index fell 31 points or 0.5% to 6,851 in early trade on Friday, mirroring US stocks that ended in the red overnight, amid concerns about higher interest rates and inflation even as the Federal Reserve said that rising prices in the country will be temporary. In the Philippines, official data showed annual inflation hit its highest in 26 months in February, rising 4.7% yoy and above the official target of 2-4% and in line with market consensus. The country's central bank, however, said that it would be in a rush to reverse its accommodative stance. On the pandemic front, local media reports said that the Philippine government may begin distributing a shipment of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to different hospitals later in the day. In business news, the Philippines’ Monde Nissin Corp on Thursday filed for an up to PHP 63 billion initial public offerings, in what is set to be the country’s largest-ever listing, reported Reuters.

The annual inflation rate in the Philippines rose to 4.7% in February 2021 from 4.2% a month earlier, matching market consensus. This was the highest reading since December 2018, above both the central bank's target of 2 to 4%, amid the impact of weather-related supply disruptions. Main upward pressure came from most components: food and non-alcoholic beverages (6.7% vs 6.1% in January); transport (10.4% vs 8.7%); housing (0.9% vs 0.5%); alcoholic beverages (12.2% vs 11.7%); clothing (1.6% vs 1.6%); furnishing (2.4% vs 2.9%); health (2.9% vs 2.5%); communication (0.3% vs 0.2%); education (1.1% vs 1.1%); and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services (3.2% vs 3%). In contrast, cost of recreation fell further (-0.7% vs -0.7%). On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.2%, the least in five months, after a 1.3% rise in January.

Foreign exchange reserves in South Africa dropped to a three-month low of USD 53.79 billion in February of 2021 from USD 54.80 billion in January. The decrease in the gross reserves and the international liquidity position was mainly due to the decline in the US dollar gold price and the net effect of foreign exchange swap transactions. The SARB matured foreign exchange swaps conducted for sterilisation purposes, however, these were more than offset by the foreign exchange swaps conducted for liquidity management purposes during January which matured in February. The reserves were further impacted by foreign exchange payments made on behalf of government and valuation adjustments related to foreign currency movements.

The NZX 50 fell 44.25 points or 0.36% to 12180.25 on Friday, falling 0.38% for the week as a continued surge in long term bond yields pressured equity valuations. The local 10-year yield surged to 23-month highs of 1.939% while US 10-year rates lifted to 13-month highs of 1.569% after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell held to his stance to keep interest rates low for a long time, even amid rising inflationary pressures. On the coronavirus front, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director- General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced that Auckland will move to alert level 2 on Sunday, while the rest of New Zealand will move to alert level 1 after the Ministry of Health confirmed no new cases of COVID-19 in the community for the 5th consecutive day. Among individual stocks, My Food Bag’s debut disappointed investors, closing 5.9% lower.

Singapore's retail sales declined by 6.1% year-on-year in January of 2021, much faster than a downwardly revised 3.3% drop a month earlier. This was the 24th straight month of decrease in retail trade and the steepest pace in three months, reflecting the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on consumption. Sales shrank further for food & alcohol (-43.6% vs -32.4% in December), petrol service (-7.3% vs -5%), cosmetics, toiletries (-31.8% vs -33.3%), wearing apparel (-28.5% vs -22.9%), watches & jewelry (-8.1% vs -10.1%), optical good & books (-6.1% vs -8.8%), others (-9.8% vs -12.2%), and department stores (-36.1% vs -28.8%). By contrast, sales grew for motor vehicles (10.3% vs 3.3%), furniture (25.9% vs 21.2%), computer & telecommunication equipment (24.8% vs 25.4%), and supermarkets (7.8% vs 25.4%). On a monthly basis, retail sales fell by 1.8%, after a revised 1% decrease in December.

The BSE SENSEX dropped 111 points or 0.2% to 50,740 in early deals on Friday, declining for the second straight session and mirroring US equities that sold off overnight, on a spike in bond yields that put more pressure on the market’s high-flying stocks, in particular in the technology sector. Meantime, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powel downplayed the worries about a pick-up in inflation, saying that any surge in prices is unlikely to be sustainable. On the data front, the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits edged higher last week, with claims in Texas surging after freezing weather. In local news, there were 17,407 fresh COVID-19 cases in a 24 hour period on Thursday, continuing a worrying upward trend that has seen over the last two weeks. Indusind Bank and ICICI Bank plunged 2.7% and 1.6%, each. Agrochemical maker Heranba Industries is set to debut today after receiving strong demand from investors to its $85 million IPO last month.

The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Services Index jumped to 58.8 in February of 2021 from 54.3 in the previous month. It was the highest reading since June of 2018, highlighting the effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policy measures to support economic recovery. Sales, new orders, stocks and deliveries recorded strong recovery, though the employment index indicated a contraction.

Canada’s main stock index fell for the second session in a row on Thursday, with the benchmark S&P/TSX finishing around the 18,100 level dragged by a massive selloff in the technology. Investors have grown concerned about rapidly rising bond yields in recent weeks as they could hurt high-growth companies reliant on easy borrowing. Still, gains in the heavyweight energy sector capped stock market losses. Kinaxis Inc and Lightspeed POS Inc were among the biggest laggards on the TSX, down 17% and 9%, respectively.