US Treasuries in Tokyo were little changed after surging in the US on Friday, pushing two-year note yields to historic lows after the US jobless report raised hopes for another Federal Reserve interest rate cut in October.
A volatile session on the stock market triggered safe-haven flows from equities into risk-free government securities.
"You've got the Fed in a box," said Andrew Brenner, head of institutional fixed income at Investec Ernst & Co in New York. "They have to continue to ease and everyone knows that."
The dollar stayed under pressure in the aftermath of the jump in US jobless, but jitters over another slide in Tokyo stocks were holding the yen back.
Among leading Asian markets, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei average shed 3.05 percent or 321.10 points to 10,195.69, a fresh 17-year closing low. The broader TOPIX index gave up 2.30 percent or 24.85 points to 1,055.98.
Hong Kong stocks fell nearly two percent just after the opening, tracking Wall Street on growing fears about the US economy. But the Hang Seng Index recovered to stand down just 0.10 percent, or 10.69 points at 10,373.51 after hitting 10,177.51, its lowest level since March 1999.
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