• Asian equity futures were muted as US stocks and Treasuries fell after strong retail sales data cast fresh doubt on the prospect the Federal Reserve will cut rates in March.
• Australian shares fell and contracts for benchmarks in Japan were little changed while those for Hong Kong rose slightly. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both slipped 0.6% Wednesday, pushing volatility higher. The VIX index, Wall Street’s so-called fear gauge, climbed to levels not seen since November.
• Treasuries suffered a second day of selling, concentrated on the short end of the curve. The policy-sensitive two-year yield rose 14 basis points, its biggest one-day increase since June. The 10-year rose four basis points to above 4.1% for the first time in more than a month. Australian and New Zealand yields also traded higher early Thursday.