- Dollar rises as Treasury yields rebound amid mixed trade policy messages
- Asian stocks wilt, tech shares largely ignore Nvidia results
- Bitcoin wobbles near $85,000
- Gold steady as trade war threat hurts sentiment
TOKYO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar firmed in Asia on Thursday and Treasury yields ticked higher as investors assessed the outlook for tariffs and the economy under U.S. President Donald Trump.
Asian stocks were overall weaker in volatile trading, with tech shares around the region getting little steer from heavyweight U.S. chipmaker and artificial intelligence darling Nvidia's earnings.
Cryptocurrency bitcoin languished near the $85,000 mark, while safe-haven gold was steady some $64 an ounce below its record high as trade war worries kept market sentiment fragile.
Trump clouded the outlook for looming levies on top trading partners Canada and Mexico on Wednesday by signalling they would take effect on April 2, which would be another month-long extension.
However a White House official later said the previous March 2 deadline for the levies remained in effect "as of this moment", stirring further uncertainty about U.S. trade policy.
U.S. two-year Treasury yields rose to 4.09%, finding their footing following a slump to the lowest since November 1 at 4.065% in the prior session. The 10-year yield rose to 4.2809% from a low of 4.245% on Wednesday, a 2-1/2-month trough.
The dollar and U.S. yields have been under pressure in recent weeks as a run of soft economic indicators have combined with growth worries arising from Trump's tariff plans.
Traders have raised bets for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in recent days, now seeing two quarter-point reductions this year, with the first likely in July and the next as early as October.
Markets will look at GDP and durable orders data due on Thursday for any stronger signs of slowdown, while the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) index, is due on Friday.
"Markets are starting to feel less confidence about U.S. growth," said Shoki Omori, chief global desk strategist at Mizuho Securities.
"I think U.S. data surprises will continue to be towards the downside," although as economists start to adjust their forecasts towards weaker outcomes, and with inflation still "sticky", 10-year Treasury yields are unlikely to fall below 4%, Omori said.
The U.S. dollar index , which measures the currency against six major rivals, rose 0.24% to 106.70, continuing its climb off a 2 1/2-month low of 106.12, reached earlier this week.
In equities, Japan's Nikkei added 0.25% and Australia's benchmark index rose 0.33%. However, South Korea's Kospi slid 0.91% and Taiwan shares dropped 1.49%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng flipped between gains and losses to last trade little changed. Mainland blue chips eased 0.2%.
Pan-European STOXX 50 futures shed 0.5%.
U.S. Nasdaq futures pointed 0.3% higher following a 0.3% rise in the regular session overnight, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.3% after the cash index ended the day flat.
Nvidia shares slipped 1.5% in extended trading following a 3.7% rally in regular trading on Wednesday. After the closing bell, the chipmaker published a strong growth forecast for the first quarter, although investors are accustomed to big beats from the company.
"Nvidia's earnings came with much less volatility than expected," said IG analyst Jun Rong Yeap.
"The absence of major surprises may have kept sentiment relatively calm," Yeap said.
"Sellers may find fault with its slight gross margin decline, but ... note that this stems from newer data centre products - ultimately beneficial for long-term growth."
Bitcoin edged up to $85,835 following a nearly 12% tumble over the first three days of this week.
Bitcoin bull Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, cautioned against buying the dip just yet in a note to clients.
"Stay patient," he said. "These types of losses rarely end well and I still think the big capitulation is yet to come."
Gold eased back to $2,891 per ounce.
Crude oil ticked up from two-month lows it hit following a surprise build in U.S. fuel stockpiles.
Brent crude futures added 0.3% to $72.75 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures gained 0.17% to $68.74.
Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Jamie Freed
Source: Reuters