Most Asian stocks fell on Thursday after Wall Street indices declined, reversing course after two days of gains. Wall Street futures also fell while oil prices were mixed. The decline on Wednesday came as investors reviewed quarterly earnings reports amid rising Treasury yields hitting multi-year highs, enticing traders with higher returns on relatively low-risk investments. Also, the Nikkei index in Tokyo fell 1.1% to 26954.15 while the Kospi index in Seoul dropped 1.3% to 2208.48. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index declined 1.9% to 16194.09. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.1% to 3042.98 and the Australian S&P / ASX 200 index dropped 1.1% to 6724.70. Early gains on Wednesday in Wall Street quickly faded, where the S&P 500 index fell 0.7% to close at 3695.16, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.3% to 30423.81. The Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.9% at 10680.51. Small companies declined more than the rest of the market, leading to a 1.7% decline in the Russell 2000 index to 1725.76, as stocks were falling after two days of gains, but trading was volatile throughout. In the same context, Netflix rose 13% and United Airlines gained 5% after announcing its quarterly results, while other companies including Abbott Laboratories and M&T Bank sank. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond, which affects mortgage rates, rose to 4.13%, the highest level since June 2008, from 4.02% late Tuesday. Additionally, the sharp movement in three-month Treasuries may have helped put traders in a selling mode, as the yield briefly reached 4.01% before retreating to 3.98%, and if the yield on three-month Treasuries rises above the yield on 10-year Treasuries, known as an inversion, it would be a strong warning that the economy might be heading toward a recession.

On the other hand, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to curb rising prices, aiming to make borrowing more difficult and slow economic growth in an attempt to tame inflation, but the strategy risks disrupting the already slowing U.S. economy. Homebuilders and other housing-related companies fell on Wednesday after a report showed new home construction fell more than expected in September. Lennar homebuilder's stock dropped 6% and Lowe’s, a home improvement company, fell 4.8%. U.S. crude oil prices rose 3.3%, boosting energy stocks. Early Thursday, U.S. crude rose 53 cents to $86.08 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 12 cents to $92.29 per barrel. Household goods giant Procter & Gamble rose 0.9% after reporting strong financial results, joining an increasing list of companies, including Hasbro and Johnson & Johnson, warning investors of a sharp dollar revenue hit. The dollar gained strength against currencies worldwide as inflation and recession concerns led investors to seek relatively stable investments. Early Thursday, the dollar was at 149.93 Japanese yen, up from 149.81 yen, and the euro fell to 97.59 cents from 97.73 cents.