DUBLIN — Shares in James Hardie Industries plc fell 5.08% to $37.36 on the ASX Wednesday, down $2.00, as the fiber cement building materials maker was swept up in a broader selloff affecting richly valued, rate-sensitive stocks ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.

The decline comes as global bond yields have climbed sharply in recent sessions, with the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield reaching 5.04% this week, its highest level since 2007, as markets braced for what is widely expected to be a further interest rate increase from the Fed. That rise in borrowing costs has weighed particularly heavily on companies whose valuations are built around expectations of substantial future earnings growth, a category that includes James Hardie, which trades at a price-to-earnings ratio well above 100 times trailing earnings, leaving the stock especially exposed to shifts in the broader rate environment.

James Hardie's business is directly tied to housing and construction activity, both of which are highly sensitive to the path of interest rates. The company, headquartered in Dublin and listed on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Australian Securities Exchange, is the world's largest manufacturer of fiber cement products, used primarily as exterior siding on homes, with North America generating roughly 80% of its group earnings. Higher mortgage rates tend to cool new home construction and renovation activity, both of which drive demand for the company's core products,........

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