Asian markets fall following Wall Street selloff

August 21, 2026 (MLN): Asian markets traded mostly lower on Friday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street as rising long-dated U.S. Treasury yields renewed concerns over inflation and government debt supply.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.92%, while the Topix slipped 0.40%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.07%, with the small-cap Kosdaq dropping 2.44%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was also down 0.21%, according to CNBC.

The weak regional performance followed a sharp pullback in U.S. equities, where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9% and 1%, respectively, putting both benchmarks on track for weekly losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was also down 1.8% for the week.

Investor sentiment remained pressured by the rebound in long-dated U.S. Treasury yields, as concerns persisted that government efforts to ease pressure in the bond market would not address underlying worries over inflation and the growing supply of government debt.

Meanwhile, tensions between the United States and Iran continued to weigh on market sentiment after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pledged to intensify economic pressure on Tehran.

U.S. stock futures were broadly steady in early Friday trading, with S&P 500 futures little changed and Nasdaq-100 futures edging higher.

In corporate developments, shares of Ross Stores surged more than 7% in after-hours trading following stronger-than-expected second-quarter results.

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