SYDNEY (Feb 8): Asian traders braced for another day of swings as U.S. markets remained volatile and investors assessed the implications of the recent turmoil.

Treasuries declined after weak demand at a sale of 10-year notes, pushing the yield back toward the recent four-year high. Futures signaled gains for Japan and Hong Kong shares one day after rallies in both countries gave way in afternoon trading.

U.S. equities swung between gains and losses throughout the session on high volume before ending lower after heavy selling in the final 15 minutes of trading. While the Cboe Volatility Index eased back, it’s about 40 percent above its average since 1990.

This year’s surge in Treasury yields has sparked concern the Federal Reserve could accelerate its tightening schedule, slowing the economy and eroding corporate profit margins. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans signaled as much Wednesday, saying sustained inflation could force more hikes.

A lingering issue for equity bulls is the wisdom of doing what they always do -- buy the dip -- when more selling by speculators may be imminent after Monday’s break in volatility markets. Accounts of losses and liquidations at hedge funds specializing in the asset class were rife Wednesday morning even as Wall Street strategists urged investors to consider the market’s solid underpinning in economic growth and earnings.

Elsewhere, the New Zealand dollar fell after the central bank delayed the timing for when it expects to reach it’s inflation target and cut its growth forecast. Metals retreated as a rally in the dollar eroded the appeal of raw materials as investments. Oil tumbled on a report showing record crude production from U.S. fields.

Here are some events scheduled for the remainder of this week:

* The U.K.’s monetary policy decision Thursday. The Bank of England may see Governor Mark Carney emphasize that continuing appreciation of the pound, which has strengthened almost 3 percent since the beginning of 2018, would help to contain inflation. This would stand in sharp contrast to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand which earlier Thursday said it expects its exchange rate to ease.

* Earnings season continues with reports from Philip Morris, L’Oreal and Twitter.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

* Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 1.7 percent.

* Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.4 percent.

* Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.8 percent. 

* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.5 percent, erasing gains of as much as 1.2 percent.

Currencies

* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced 0.6 percent to the highest in more than two weeks.

* The euro dipped 0.9 percent to $1.2266, the weakest in more than two weeks.

* The British pound sank 0.5 percent to $1.3882.

* The yen rose 0.2 percent to 109.33 per dollar.

Bonds

* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose four basis points to 2.84 percent, the highest in about four years.

* Australia’s 10-year yield increased three basis points to 2.87 percent.

Commodities

* The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell 1.2 percent, its biggest tumble in 12 weeks.

* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.6 percent to $61.73 a barrel.

* Gold dipped 0.4 percent to $1,318.39 an ounce.