Asia markets fall as Japan records surprise trade surplus; Australia unemployment figures awaited

This is CNBC Live Blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Asia-Pacific stocks fell in all directions as Japan reported a surprising trade surplus for September, and Australia waited to see its September unemployment figures.

The same thing happened on Wall Street, where U.S. Treasury rates jumped to record highs.

Ten-year Treasury Yield

Breaking News

Above 4.9%

First time since 2007.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate has reached 8%.

Highest level since 2000

.

Australia is the

S&P/ASX 200

In early trading, the stock fell 1.33%, wiping out all of its gains this week.

Japan's

Nikkei 225

The Topix also fell 1.18%, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.42% after the release of the trade data.

South Korea

Kospi

The Kosdaq plunged 2.22%. According to a Reuters survey of economists, the country's central banks is expected to keep its benchmark lending rate at 3.5% today.

Futures for Hong Kong

Hang Seng index

The index closed at 17,569 and continued the losses of Wednesday. It also showed a lower open compared to the HSI close of 17,732.52.

All three major US indexes fell on Wednesday, and none was in positive territory during the session.

You can also find out more about the following:

Dow Jones Industrial Average

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.98% or more than 300 points. The

S&P 500

The 1.34% decline in the NYSE was accompanied by a 1.34% drop in the

Nasdaq Composite

The price of the stock dropped by 1.62%.

This report was contributed by Samantha Subin of CNBC and Alex Harring.

Fed report: Economy is unchanged, but hiring and prices are up.

Federal Reserve released its report on Wednesday, stating that the U.S. economy has shown "little or no changes" in the last six weeks.

Beige Book report

.

The report described spending as "mixed", while prices rose "at a modest rate". The report said that companies expect inflation to rise, but at a slower rate.

As firms hired "less urgently", the majority of areas experienced "slight to moderate increases". Respondents expected the economy to grow "stable" or with "a slightly slower growth rate."

--Jeff Cox

Citi's Chronert says that stocks are in good shape as long as the Middle East conflict is contained.

According to Citi's Scott Chronert, the market is in a "uncertain" state as long as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East persist. However, the market will remain stable as long as the conflict remains contained.

The U.S. equity analyst told CNBC "

Squawk in the Street

" on Wednesday. As long as the situation remains contained, our opinion of U.S. stocks is pretty solid.

The third quarter earnings have also been reported, which further confirms the good fundamentals of the stock market, he said.

Samantha Subin

Key Treasury yields are rising, putting pressure on equities

Treasury yields

Roses on Wednesday

With the

10-year

The stock market has reached a new multi-year high. Stocks were under pressure as a result of the move up.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose by almost 7 basis points, to 4,911%. This is its highest level since 2007. The 10-year Treasury yield was up by nearly 7 basis points to 4.911%, putting it above 4,9% for the first time since 2007.

Two-year Treasury

The yield has risen by almost 2 basis points, to 5,231%. This is close to levels last seen in 2006

The note also includes

5 Year Treasury

The highest level recorded since 2007 was 4.937%.

One basis point is equal to 0.01%.

-- Alex Harring, Sophie Kiderlin

Gold prices increase 1%, reaching their highest level in almost a month

Gold prices increased by more than 1% Wednesday, trading near their highest levels since September 20.

U.S. Gold Futures rose 1.1% last to $1,957.5 while Silver gained 1.4% and traded near its highest level ever since September 29.

Gold prices rose as a result of the move.

Recent events in the Middle East have heightened fears

An escalation of the Israel-Hamas Conflict.

Samantha Subin