SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian stocks dipped on Monday as investors braced for a bevy of earnings from the world’s largest corporations, while keeping a wary eye on U.S. bond yields as they approach peaks that have triggered market spasms in the past.
Traders were also anxiously awaiting surveys on global manufacturing for April to see if economic softness in the first quarter was just a passing phase linked to poor weather and the Lunar New Year holidays.
The first reading from Japan was tentatively upbeat with its PMI firming to 53.3 in April as output and domestic demand picked up.
On the geopolitical front, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday the North Korean nuclear crisis was a long way from being resolved, striking a cautious note a day after the North pledged to end its nuclear tests.
Oil prices edged down in early trade but were not far from their highest since late 2014. The market had wobbled on Friday when Trump tweeted criticism of OPEC’s role in pushing up global prices, but quickly steadied.
Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were off 9 cents at $73.97 per barrel, while U.S. crude CLc1 eased 19 cents to $68.21.
In stock markets, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.4 percent, with South Korea .KS11 off 0.3 percent.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 also eased 0.3 percent as tech stocks continued to struggle with a warning on waning demand for mobile phones.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 went the other way, edging up 0.1 percent.
Rising bond yields had pressured Wall Street on Friday,
