* MSCI Asia-Pacific index down 0.4 pct, Nikkei down 0.5 pct
* Spreadbetters expect European shares to open slightly lower
* German 10-yr yield hovers near 18-month high after ECB minutes
* 10-year Treasury yield at 2-month high
* BOJ deploys special bond buying operation as JGB yields rise
* Higher debt yields dampen allure of equities, precious metals
By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, July 7 (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 closer to unwinding its massive monetary stimulus.
Spreadbetters expected Britain's FTSE to open 0.25 percent lower, Germany's DAX to open 0.3 percent lower and France's CAC to open down 0.2 percent.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.4 percent, after the Dow 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 0.9 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.4 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.
The pan-European STOXX 600 fell to an 11-week low the previous day and the German 10-year bund yield rose above 0.5 percent to an 18-month high after the ECB's June meeting minutes showed the central bank opening the door to dropping a long-standing bond buying pledge.
"It is natural for risk assets in developed markets to adjust lower on prospects of curbed liquidity, as easy money has allowed them to rise far out of proportion with their underlying real economies," said Yoshinori Shigemi, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.
"For the ECB, tapering of easy policy and hiking rates are two totally different things, and it is likely to make this clear. But right now the markets are having a hard time believing the ECB's intentions."
The 10-year Treasury note yield stood near a two-month high of 2.391 percent. With more focus on the euro zone bond market's rise in yields, Treasuries brushed off Thursday's weaker-than-expected U.S. ADP employment data.
"Expectations that the European Central Bank and other central banks joining the Federal Reserve in moving towards tighter policies are causing a diversification of funds away from Treasuries," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior forex strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.