- Canada to further cut international student, foreign worker permits
- YouTube launches new TV-focused tools for creators
- White Sox heading for worst season in MLB history
- China the top challenge in US history: senior diplomat
- Hong Kong democracy tycoon's son warns time running out
- New migraine drugs no better than cheap painkillers: big study
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs again denied bail in sex trafficking case
- Brewers clinch division title as MLB playoff race heats up
- Man City blunted by 'giant' Inter in Champions League stalemate
- US stocks dip despite larger Fed interest rate cut
- Man City held by Inter as PSG pinch win in Champions League
- All Blacks recall Beauden Barrett for Australia Test
- Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill 20, wound 450
- Spurs late show saves Postecoglou blushes at Coventry
- PSG snatch late goal to beat Champions League debutants Girona
- Gittens' late double gives Dortmund Champions League win at Brugge
- Man City blunted by Inter in Champions League stalemate
- Hidden talent: French Olympic star Marchand opts for disguise
- MrBeast named in California lawsuit over 'Beast Games' show
- Gauff splits with Gilbert as coach after 14-month run
- Hundreds of thousands at risk in Sudan's El-Fasher: UN
- Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to new sex crime charge
- Venezuelan opposition candidate says letter conceding election was coerced
- Ukraine official claims Russian advance in Kursk has been 'stopped'
- X update allows app to bypass Brazil ban: internet providers
- Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill 14, wound 450
- US Fed makes aggressive rate cut, weeks before election
- Arsenal's Odegaard faces lengthy injury absence
- India coal expansion risks massive methane growth: report
- China the top challenge in US history, top diplomat says
- US Fed makes larger half-point cut in first reduction since 2020
- Ronaldo's Al Nassr appoint former AC Milan boss Pioli
- Ainslie 'relieved' as British book place in Louis Vuitton Cup final
- Struggling Roma replace sacked icon De Rossi with Ivan Juric
- Women's NBA will add 15th team in Portland in 2026
- Brazil fires need harsher punishment: environmental police boss
- Boeing to start large temporary furloughs amid Seattle strike
- Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill nine, wound 300
- 'Emergency' declared over falling UK butterfly numbers
- McIlroy outlines threats to golf peace deal
- Stock markets, dollar slip before US rate decision
- Russian advance in Kursk 'stopped': Ukraine official to AFP
- UN members demand end to 'unlawful' Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories
- Snapchat pushes 'safer' platform image, but not everyone agrees
- Three dead, 100 wounded in new wave of Lebanon device explosions
- So where does the oceans' plastic waste come from?
- Allied war heroes buried in Netherlands... 80 years on
- Marsh coy over Australia's choice to open alongside Head
- New London sculpture pays tribute to trans community
- Lebanon doctors tell of horror after pager blasts
RBGPF | 5.79% | 60.5 | $ | |
GSK | -0.31% | 42.43 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.02% | 25.055 | $ | |
VOD | 0.49% | 10.23 | $ | |
NGG | -0.46% | 70.05 | $ | |
SCS | 0.71% | 14.11 | $ | |
BTI | -0.34% | 37.88 | $ | |
AZN | 0.06% | 78.58 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.37% | 6.55 | $ | |
RIO | -0.02% | 62.91 | $ | |
RELX | -0.82% | 47.37 | $ | |
BCC | 1.33% | 137.06 | $ | |
BCE | 3.09% | 35.61 | $ | |
JRI | 0.45% | 13.44 | $ | |
BP | -0.37% | 32.43 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.12% | 24.98 | $ |
Asia stocks mixed as profit-taking, tech woes offset catch-up play
Asian markets were mixed Thursday, with a split between those suffering from profit-taking following a recent rally and those that were playing catch-up after a midweek break across much of the region.
Wall Street provided another healthy lead after rising for a fourth day -- helping pare January's steep losses -- but the positivity was dealt a blow after the close as Facebook parent Meta's sobering earnings fuelled fresh worries about the tech sector.
The gloomy mix of a sharper-than-expected drop in profit, a decrease in users and threats to its ad business followed disappointing results from streaming titan Netflix, indicating the pandemic-era sugar rush enjoyed from people being holed up at home has come to an end.
The weak readings provided a reality check that while the world economy is on the mend and many firms such as Apple are enjoying healthy earnings -- despite higher inflation and looming interest rate hikes -- the coming year is unlikely to be straightforward.
In early Asian trade, Tokyo, Sydney, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta all fell, having enjoyed a very strong week so far. However, Singapore and Seoul were both up around two percent on their first day back after the Lunar New Year break.
Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei were still closed. US futures turned sharply lower with Meta plunging about 20 percent in after-hours trade.
Meanwhile, traders are also still obsessing over the Federal Reserve's timetable for hiking interest rates, with speculation rife over how much it will raise them in March and how many more times this year.
Several officials have come out in recent days to soothe concerns about a hard and fast approach, though January inflation data released next week will be closely watched for an idea about the central bank's plans.
Private jobs data Wednesday did little to provide any clarity, with more than 300,000 jobs lost in the sector -- against an expected rise of 180,000 -- but officials put that down to the impact of Omicron, which saw millions of people infected during the time of the survey.
Still, National Australia Bank's Rodrigo Catril said a big miss in Friday's closely watched official figures could affect the Fed's planning.
"Overall, there is a general sense that this is a temporary setback which arguably could extend into February, making interpretation of the state of the US labour market a difficult task over the near term," he said in a note.
"Forecasts for Friday's payrolls are now all over the place with many calling for a negative print in January.
"Depending on the magnitude of the disruption, this can potentially become a solid excuse for the Fed to wait on the sidelines after a first rate hike in March," he added.
"A theme to watch, but for now this is yet another reason to push back on the notion of more than four rate hikes this year."
Before the upcoming jobs reading, focus is on Thursday's meetings of the European Central Bank and Bank of England. While the latter is tipped to unveil another rate hike to help curtail surging prices, the ECB is tipped to remain unmoved.
However, while officials in Frankfurt continue to insist the upward price pressures are temporary, they will be coming under pressure to act after data Wednesday showed inflation at a record high.
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 27,227.94 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1299 from $1.1304 late Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3560 from $1.3573
Euro/pound: UP at 83.33 pence from 83.28 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 114.44 yen from 114.42 yen
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $87.67 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $89.05 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 35,629.33 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,583.00 (close)
O.Lorenz--BTB