• Stocks in Asia were mostly set to decline after a US session dominated by a sell-off in bonds, with traders also weighing mixed economic data and remarks from Federal Reserve speakers for clues on the policy outlook.
• Futures for equity benchmarks in Hong Kong and Sydney indicated lower opens, while those for Tokyo showed a slight advance. Treasuries fell after the US sold $70 billion of five-year notes at 4.553% — above the pre-auction level of 4.540%. An earlier offering of $69 billion in two-year notes also came on the soft side.
• Just a few days before the Fed’s favorite price gauge, a report showed US consumer confidence unexpectedly rose in May — though recession expectations increased as well. US 10-year yields climbed eight basis points in Tuesday, the S&P 500 was little changed while the Nasdaq Composite closed above 17,000 for the first time ever.