Asian equities treaded water Friday morning, as markets await clarity on the Federal Reserve's interest-rate trajectory.
Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh is scheduled to deliver his first speech at the Fed's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., later Friday. Warsh, who became Fed chairman in May, has intentionally refrained from providing guidance about the U.S. central bank's plans to ensure price stability.
"Markets will closely scrutinize his comments for signals on whether the Fed is prepared to raise rates" at the Federal Open Market Committee's September meeting, UOB Global Economics & Markets Research said in a note. "Futures markets [are] currently pricing only a 35% probability of a hike," UOB added.
Yields on Japan's 10-year government bonds rose 2.5 basis points to 2.915% and those on Australia's 10-year sovereign debt edged 1 basis point higher to 5.0810%, while yields on New Zealand's 10-year government securities were little changed at 4.7280%. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
"Markets are on edge for any signal [from Warsh] on the rate path, with bond yields already rising in anticipation of a potentially hawkish tone," Commerzbank Research analysts said in a note.
Equity markets across the Asia-Pacific region were mixed. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.5% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index added 0.3%, while South Korea's Kospi declined 0.8%.
Crude oil futures fell, but losses are likely to be limited by fading hopes for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil is transported.
The Trump administration has repeatedly told mediators it has no interest in going back to the terms of the memorandum of understanding it reached with Iran in June, The Wall Street Journal reported.
"This comes after Iran and Oman reached an agreement on revenue sharing on Hormuz earlier this week, raising hopes that the waterway would reopen to vessels shipping oil," ANZ Research analysts said in a research report. "The prospect of an agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz faded," the ANZ analysts added.
The preliminary deal that President Trump signed at the Palace of Versailles and which Vice President JD Vance helped negotiate aimed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, However, that fell apart within weeks after Iran began attacking ships to assert its control over the strait.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 0.3% to $83.33 per barrel and front-month Brent crude oil futures dropped 0.3% to $89.41 a barrel, ICE data showed.