Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks looked set to slide Thursday as their U.S. peers extended losses in after-hours trading on disappointing earnings from tech giants and concerns about valuations. The dollar jumped the most since September and Treasuries climbed.S&P 500 futures slipped as results from Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and Tesla Inc. sent shares sliding after market. Contracts pointed lower in Japan and Hong Kong, and Australian shares retreated. Earlier, the U.S. benchmark fell 2.6% -- the most since October -- after Federal Reserve officials left their main interest rate unchanged and made clear the central bank was nowhere near exiting massive support for the economy. Ten-year Treasury yields fell to just over 1%.While the U.S. stock selloff was widespread, sinking all sectors, turmoil continued in pockets of the market where retail traders are becoming a dominant force. Shares of GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. soared as professional investors questioned the rationale behind the moves.A push higher for stocks has reversed this week as investors looked to a spate of earnings releases for clues about the health of the corporate world. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at a press conference that the U.S. economy was a long way from full recovery and still short of policy makers’ inflation and job goals.“It was always doubtful the Fed would announce any new actions this month,” said Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors. “After a few weeks of Fed speakers pushing back on the monetary tightening narrative, it wasn’t surprising to hear Powell reassert the message that tapering is not on the agenda for 2021.”Apple shares fell after a cautious outlook from executives overshadowed quarterly revenue that topped $100 billion for the first time. Tesla reported lower-than-expected profit and record revenue, mixed results that disappointed investors. Facebook warned of “significant uncertainty” in 2021.On the virus front, officials in the U.K. announced new rules to try to curb the spread of Covid-19 and Germany cut its 2021 economic growth forecast. The European Union failed to resolve its dispute with AstraZeneca Plc over vaccine supplies, raising the risk of additional delays to the bloc’s sluggish innoculation campaignElsewhere, Bitcoin fell below $30,000 before paring the decline and precious metals dropped. The euro held losses seen in the wake of comments from a European Central Bank official who said that markets are underestimating the odds of a rate cut.These are some key events coming up in the week ahead:Fourth-quarter GDP, initial jobless claims and new home sales are among U.S. data releases Thursday.U.S. personal income, spending and pending home sales come Friday.These are the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures dropped 0.2% as of 8:03 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge fell 2.6% on Wednesday.Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.9%.Hang Seng futures fell 0.5%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dipped 0.7%.CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.7%.The euro was at $1.2108.The yen traded at 104.09 per dollar.The offshore yuan was at 6.4957 per dollar.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries fell two basis points to 1.01%.Australia’s 10-year yield dropped one basis point to 1.08%.CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.5% to $52.56 per barrel.Gold was steady around $1,843 an ounce.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
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