Asia hit by Wall St. stumble, debt yields spike after ECB minutes

TOKYO, (Reuters) - - Asian shares lost ground on Friday after a weak session on Wall Street, while global sovereign debt yields were elevated across the board on bets the European Central Bank is moving ever closer towards unwinding its massive monetary stimulus. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.3 percent, after the Dow .DJI lost 0.7 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1 percent on Thursday, partly as higher Treasury yields dimmed the appeal of equities. Japan's Nikkei was down 0.5 percent, South Korea's KOSPI dropped 0.3 percent and Australian stocks declined 1 percent. The prospect of the ECB turning off the flow of easy money has been a dominant global market theme since President Mario Draghi's hawkish comments last week, pushing bond yields higher and hurting equities. Commodity Trading Tips