ASX futures were 26 points or 0.4 per cent lower at 6813 at 7.00am Friday AEST, indicating the market will slide at the open.
Declines in US shares were led by a 25% drop in the stock of Facebook parent Meta Platforms. Faster-than-expected 3Q GDP growth and a slight uptick in weekly jobless claims mitigated some of the fears surrounding an accelerating slowdown in the economy.
But shares of technology companies continue to be under pressure, with earnings due this week from Apple, Amazon and Intel. Caterpillar and McDonald’s are among the biggest Dow components to rally after earnings, and Boeing is up 4.5%, rebounding somewhat from Wednesday’s swoon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 197 points, or 0.6%, to close at 32036, while the S&P 500 fell 0.6%, to 3807, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.6%, to 10792.
In commodity markets, Brent gained 1.15% to settle at $US96.78 a barrel, gold was 0.2% softer at US$1,661.08.
Australian 2 Year government bond yields fell to 3.14% and 10 Year yields declined to 3.68%. In the foreign, bond markets 2 Year US Treasury notes fell to yield 4.33% and 10 Year US Treasury notes were steady at 3.95%.
The Australian dollar dipped as low as 64.60 US cents, compared to its earlier close of 64.95. The WSJ Dollar Index, which gauges the U.S. currency against 16 others, inched up to 102.77.
Asia
Chinese stock finished lower with negative sentiment resuming to dominate after a mild rebound in the previous session, and liquor makers slumped. Index heavyweight Kweichow Moutai declined 4.3%, as it fell for a ninth day, and Wuliangye Yibin lost 4.4%. Tsingtao Brewery slid 8.7% even as its 3Q profit jumped 18%. Power utilities also slid. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.6% to 2982.90, the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.6% and the ChiNext Price Index was down 1.5%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.7% to 15427.94, as shares continued to recover from losses earlier in the week. The selloff in Chinese stocks and the yuan after China’s party congress looked like “excessive pessimism” and the market appeared “overly discounted,” Bank of Singapore said in a note. Tech stocks added to recent gains, including the e-commerce giants Alibaba Group, which rose 4.1 percent, and JD.com adding 5.9%. Budweiser Brewing rose 6.8% following a 7.2% increase in revenue in 3Q.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average declined 0.3% to 27345.24 as guarded investor sentiment on earnings among technology companies offset continued optimism over a slower pace of Fed tightening. Financial firms were among the index’s poorest performers, with shares of Resona Holdings falling 4.8 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust off 3.9 percent and Mizuho Financial Group down 2.7 percent.
Europe
European shares gained, as advances in mining, construction and industrial stocks countered losses in banks and brewers. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 was up 0.4 percent and the German DAX surged 1.1 percent.
The FTSE 100 in London gained 0.2 percent, to 7,071 points, lifted by oil and gas stocks after Shell announced its third-quarter earnings.
Shell jumped 3.8% as the energy giant posted third-quarter adjusted earnings that matched expectations and said it would raise its dividend by the end of the year and extend its share-buyback program. Unilever rose 0.3% after the consumer goods group lifted its full-year sales forecast while it raised prices to offset increased costs.
Airtel Africa, the telecoms group, lost 5.4% after its half-year results, miner Anglo American dropped 2.3% following its third-quarter production report, and Lloyds Banking Group slid 1.6% on the back of its interim statement.
North America
US stocks finished the day mixed following the release of data showing the US economy returned to growth in the third quarter and ahead of earnings updates from tech titans Amazon.com and Apple. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.6 percent, or around 200 points, notching its fifth straight day of gains. Shares of Caterpillar lifted the blue-chip index.
The S&P 500, for its part, declined 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 1.6%. Both posted their second consecutive day of losses.
Stocks have swung back and forth of late, buffeted by lingering uncertainty about the pace of interest rates and the latest round of corporate earnings.
On Thursday, the most recent reading on gross domestic product showed the United States economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.6 percent in the last quarter, the latest indication that the economy is somewhat stronger than many have feared most of this year. New data also indicated that the job market remains firm.
Yet investors are concerned that the underwhelming profits from tech companies so far could be a signal that an economic slowdown may be coming. The biggest technology companies have been posting earnings so far this week — and those earnings have been disappointing investors.
Shares in the parent company of Facebook, Meta Platforms, slid on Wednesday, after the company reported its second consecutive quarter of a decline in revenue, after markets closed on Wednesday. The social-media company is fighting off a number of headwinds, including a tough macroeconomic climate, increasing competition and the fallout of changes by Apple to ad tracking, all of which have weighed on its ad business. Shares fell 25 percent and were on pace for their steepest one-day loss since the company made its public market debut about a decade ago.
Some investors said that they were preparing for larger losses ahead for tech stocks after a punishing year already.
“I would be on my guard against being enticed to own something that might appear to be cheap,” Rupal Bhansali, chief investment officer and portfolio manager of global equity strategies at Ariel Investments, said of Meta shares. “It seems chintzy, but it’s an optical illusion.
Earlier this week, Google reported slowing sales growth for the fifth consecutive quarter, while advertising revenue for its YouTube video platform was down for the first time since the company started reporting the unit’s performance. The company’s shares declined 2.85 percent on Thursday, adding to a loss this week of 8.8 percent.
“There have been some very disappointing tech earnings,” said Sebastian Mackay, a multi asset fund manager at Invesco. Advertising is often regarded as an early indicator of the economy’s direction, he said, and the drop in income in that category is “indicative of the fact that the economy is slowing.”
Honeywell International shares rose 3.3% after the conglomerate with businesses in aerospace, materials and other areas raised its full-year profit forecast. Caterpillar reported a large increase in third-quarter sales, with demand for its construction and other heavy equipment remaining strong even as it pushed through price increases. Shares rose 7.7%.
Intel, Amazon.com, and Apple and T-Mobile US will report results after the market closes.
