GLOBAL MARKETS DJIA 33699.88 -249.13 -0.73% Nasdaq 11789.58 -120.94 -1.02% S&P 500 4081.50 -36.36 -0.88% FTSE 100 7911.15 25.98 0.33% Nikkei Stock 27749.75 165.40 0.60% Hang Seng 21421.36 -203.00 -0.94% Kospi 2470.89 -10.63 -0.43% SGX Nifty* 17841.50 -89 -0.50% *Feb contract USD/JPY 131.59-60 +0.04% Range 131.88 131.38 EUR/USD 1.0730-33 -0.10% Range 1.0751 1.0727 CBOT Wheat March $7.572 per bushel Spot Gold $1,861.35/oz Unch Nymex Crude (NY) $77.71 -$0.76 U.S. STOCKS
U.S. stocks on Thursday extended recent losses, pausing their year-to-date rebound as investors debated the outlook for interest rates and reviewed another batch of corporate earnings.
The three major indexes opened higher, but turned lower intraday. The S&P 500 fell 36.36 points, or 0.9%, to 4081.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eased lower 249.13 points, or 0.7%, to 33699.88. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 120.94 points, or 1%, at 11789.58 after being up as much as 1.3% at its intraday high.
ASIAN STOCKS
Japanese stocks were higher in early trade, led by several companies posting strong results, despite continuing concerns about the Fed's further tightening. Tokyo Electron was up 5.3% after it raises fiscal-year revenue and net profit views. Nippon Steel was 3.5% higher after nine-month net profit rose 1.8% on year. Financial stocks were up following gains in U.S. Treasury yields overnight. Earnings were in focus. Honda Motor and Olympus Corp. are set to announce their results later in the day. The Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.4% at 27692.17.
South Korea's benchmark Kospi fell 0.5% to 2469.90 in early trade as internet and gaming stocks retreated. Foreign and institutional investors were net sellers as U.S. tech stocks' decline overnight weighed on sentiment. K-pop boy band BTS's manager HYBE was up 4.9% after announcing a plan to acquire a 14.8% stake in SM Entertainment. SM Entertainment jumped 14% in the second-tier Kosdaq stock market.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.4% to 21525.90 in morning trade after a negative cue from U.S. markets overnights amid concerns that central banks will continue to raise rates. Stocks on Wall Street ended lower following further comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin that the central bank will need to "stay the course" in increasing interest rates, ING analysts said in a note. Concerns about rising rates and slowing growth can sap appetite for riskier assets like Asian equities.
Chinese shares were lower in early trade, retreating from Thursday's gains as traders await the next window to buy in. China's CPI rose slightly in January to 2.1% from 1.8% in December. Auto makers and bank stocks were weighing on the market. BYD Co. was down 1.5% after Berkshire Hathaway cut its stake in the company, its ninth offload since it started selling BYD's shares in August. Telecom and software companies were higher. The Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.1% to 3266.44. The Shenzhen Composite Index and the ChiNext Price Index were also each 0.1% lower.
FOREX
Asian currencies consolidated against the USD in the morning session, but could weaken on Fed's tightening prospects. Fed Chair Powell and his colleagues have signaled that more surprises in upcoming U.S. inflation and jobs reports before the FOMC meeting on March 22 might spur the Fed to raise this year's rate forecast above the 5.1% projected last December, said DBS Group Research. With the Fed potentially joining other central banks in delivering more rate increases, this has evened the playing field for the greenback this month, it added. USD/JPY edged 0.1% higher to 131.69 and USD/SGD was up 0.1% at 1.3266, while AUD/USD was little changed at 0.6934.
METALS
Gold was steady in the early morning Asian session amid mixed signals. The precious metal has been unable to move in either direction meaningfully in recent days, Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and forex.com, said, citing USD's divergent movements. On the one hand, USD has been supported on dips by the Fed officials' hawkish comments and mixed data, but on the other hand, the positive tone across risk assets has boosted the appeal of foreign currencies, the analyst said. Gold prices and USD tend to move inversely. Spot gold was little changed at $1,861.35/oz.
OIL SUMMARY
Oil slipped in the morning Asian session as fears of a possible U.S. economic slowdown cloud the outlook for demand. The latest extreme inversion of the U.S. Treasury yield curve suggests that a broad-based slowdown is coming, Oanda said. Even though inflation may ease across Europe and the U.S., risks remain high that central banks will have to conduct more tightening than what markets are pricing in, it added. Front-month WTI crude oil futures were 0.4% lower at $77.77/oz; front-month Brent was 0.2% lower at $84.30/bbl.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-09-23 2215ET
