US equity futures gained and stocks in Japan and China reversed initial losses as traders saw positive signs in corporate earnings reports.
(Bloomberg) — US equity futures gained and stocks in Japan and China reversed initial losses as traders saw positive signs in corporate earnings reports.
Contracts for the S&P 500 bounced back from a two-day decline, while those for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 extended Wednesday’s rally. Earnings from Meta Platforms Inc. beat analyst estimates, pushing its shares 11% higher in after-hours trading.
Futures for the Euro Stoxx 50 index pared earlier losses after Deutsche Bank AG pledged to step-up cost savings after missing trading revenue forecasts. STMicroelectronics NV generated more revenue than economists forecast, while Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argenta SA topped net income estimates. AstraZeneca Plc and Barclays Plc also report Thursday.
In Asia, Samsung Electronics Co. shares overcame an early drop after posting a record quarterly loss in its chip division but indicating a recovery later this year. Nomura Holdings Inc. shares fell after reporting a slump in profits. Shares in Japan and China trader higher, while those in Australia fell.
China’s economic rebound is likely to flow through to corporate profits in the months ahead, said Sylvia Sheng, multi-asset strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management in Hong Kong.
“We do think that should be coming through given how strong the recovery momentum has been for the first quarter,” she said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.
The yen stayed in a narrow range as the Bank of Japan began a two-day policy meeting, the first with Kazuo Ueda as governor. The dollar weakened versus all except one of its Group-of-10 peers. The New Zealand dollar rallied as the Treasury department predicted weather events earlier in the year would boost inflation.
Treasuries were little changed in Asia as investors waited for US GDP and jobless claims to gauge the strength of the US economy. The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the core PCE deflator, is due Friday.
Bank Woes
The potential for a tightening of credit conditions linked to the banking turmoil may prompt the Fed to adjust the pace of its interest-rate increases, Evercore ISI’s head of central bank strategy Krishna Guha wrote in a note, citing issues at First Republic Bank. The US regional lender faces potential curbs on borrowing from the Fed.
“We cannot rule out the possibility developments around First Republic could unfold in a manner that would lead the FOMC to skip May, while signaling a hike in June,” Guha said.
Elsewhere in markets, oil inched higher after a Wednesday fall, gold traded near the highest level in a week and Bitcoin resumed an advance.
Here are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% as of 3:11 p.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 fell 0.4%
- Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.8%. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.6%
- Japan’s Topix rose 0.4%
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3%
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3%
- The Shanghai Composite rose 0.7%
- Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.2%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
- The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1058
- The Japanese yen was little changed at 133.68 per dollar
- The offshore yuan rose 0.2% to 6.9286 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin rose 2.3% to $29,075.7
- Ether rose 2.1% to $1,905.23
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 3.46%
- Australia’s 10-year yield advanced eight basis points to 3.38%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4% to $74.58 a barrel
- Spot gold rose 0.5% to $1,999.05 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
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