Japan Bond Selloff Pushes Yen Toward 160, Drags Asian Stocks Lower

Asian stocks slipped in the September 24 session as a selloff in Japanese government bonds — described by traders as a "falling knife" — stalled the wave of money that had been flowing back into Japan. The dollar hit a two-month high against a basket of Asian currencies, and the yen approached 160, a level that raises the odds of official intervention by Tokyo. The bond weakness hit individual names unevenly. Shimizu shares fell in Tokyo trading, while Oracle Japan stock surged, a divergence that shows investors are still willing to pay up for AI-linked names even as the broader market wobbles. Oil retreated slightly, a sign the pressure was concentrated in currency and rates markets rather than commodities. The Trump-Xi summit, which many investors had hoped might calm trade tensions, offered little relief to the region, according to wire reports. What remains unresolved is whether the Bank of Japan will need to step in on the yen, and whether the bond selloff is a temporary repricing or the start of a longer repatriation unwind.