Stocks fell in Asia following declines in US benchmarks as fears of a banking crisis resurfaced. Robust earnings from Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. buoyed US futures.
(Bloomberg) — Stocks fell in Asia following declines in US benchmarks as fears of a banking crisis resurfaced. Robust earnings from Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. buoyed US futures.
Benchmark indexes from Japan to Australia dropped after the S&P 500 slid 1.6% on Tuesday and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 1.9%. Futures for Hong Kong equities also traded lower.
US futures recovered from Tuesday’s losses following better-than-expected earnings from Microsoft and Alphabet after markets closed in New York.
Treasuries were little changed in early Asian trading after the benchmark 10-year yield fell nine basis points Tuesday and the policy-sensitive two-year yield dropped 13 basis points. Australian bonds gained and the currency edged higher before inflation data due Wednesday. New Zealand debt also advanced.
The dollar weakened against most of its Group-of-10 peers after rallying Tuesday when investors bought the currency as a haven.
First Republic Bank shares tumbled 49% after the lender’s disappointing earnings on Monday, rekindling fears over the health of the US banking sector. The bank is exploring an asset sale of up to $100 billion of long-dated mortgages and securities as part of a rescue plan, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
“We expect volatility to continue and the reason for that is that rates will continue to be high,” Ellen Hazen, chief market strategist and lead portfolio manager for FL Putnam Investment Management Co., said on Bloomberg Television “Secular winners before and after Covid — Microsoft, Alphabet, but also Visa — with strong, dominant market positions. Those companies will be OK.”
Elsewhere, earnings were mixed. UBS Group AG shares slid after results fell short of expectations, while Spotify Technology SA rose 5% after subscriber number surged. McDonald’s Corp. was little changed after beating sales estimates, and Danaher Corp. dropped 8.8% after lowering full-year guidance.
“A soft landing in the economy this year is a pipe dream,” Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co, wrote in a note. “When was the last time a material contraction in credit did not result in a recession? The answer: Never.”
Oil rose after a 2.2% slide on Tuesday, while gold gained. Iron ore dropped below $100 a ton for the first time since early December, highlighting a frail recovery for China’s commodities demand.
Key events this week:
- Australia CPI, Wednesday
- Sweden rate decision, Wednesday
- Eurozone economic, consumer confidence, Thursday
- US initial jobless claims, GDP, Thursday
- Bank of Japan meets on interest rates, Friday
- Euro-area GDP, Friday
- US personal income, Friday
Earnings highlights:
- Wednesday: Boeing, Meta, Hilton
- Thursday: Amazon, American Airlines, Intel, Mastercard, Southwest Airlines, Hershey, Honeywell, Barclays
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% as of 9:11 a.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 fell 1.6%
- Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1.2%. The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.9%
- Japan’s Topix index fell 0.9%
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.5%
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng futures fell 0.9%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
- The euro was little changed at $1.0975
- The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 133.61 per dollar
- The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.9375 per dollar
- The Australian dollar rose 0.2% to $0.6636
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin rose 1.1% to $28,297.66
- Ether rose 0.3% to $1,865.48
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 3.41%
- Australia’s 10-year yield declined nine basis points to 3.35%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3% to $77.32 a barrel
- Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,001.79 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
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