Futures contracts tied to the major U.S. stock indexes slipped early Friday as investors pored over a flurry of earnings results and a robust profit beat from e-commerce giant Amazon.
Contracts tied to the S&P 500 fell 0.21%, while those linked to the Dow shed 43 points. Nasdaq 100 futures also dropped about 0.29%.
The after-hours moves came amid a deluge of earnings activity after the close of regular trading.
· Amazon’s sales surge 44% as it smashes earnings expectations
Earnings: $15.79 per share vs. $9.54 per share expected
Revenue: $108.52 billion vs. $104.47 billion expected
· World shares near record high on Fed, earnings, but Asia slips
Asian stocks had less luck, with MSCI’s ex-Japan index losing 0.6%, following a softer-than-expected survey on China’s manufacturing.
Australia’s ASX 200 fell 0.7% as all sectors turned red. Energy and materials were down 1.4% and 0.92%, respectively, while the heavily-weighted financials subindex lost 0.46%.
Indian shares set to snap 4-day winning streak, Reliance earnings awaited
Indian shares were on track to snap four straight sessions of gains on Friday, as losses in banking stocks weighed on the indexes, while investors eyed earnings from Reliance Industries, the country’s most valuable company, later in the day.
The NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.65% to 14,798.25 by 0514 GMT, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex slipped 0.66% to 49,441.7. Both the indexes are likely to close the week around 3% higher on gains from upbeat earnings reports.
Japanese shares fall on disappointing tech outlook, pandemic concerns
The Japanese market returned to trade after being closed Thursday for a holiday.
Japanese shares ended lower on Friday, weighed down by technology firms’ disappointing outlook, while a spike in domestic COVID-19 infections hit investor sentiment.
The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.83% to close at 28,812.63, while the broader Topix slipped 0.57% to 1,898.24.
Investors are also growing more worried about COVID-19, as new infections in Tokyo and Osaka are rising even after the declaration of a state of emergency for the two cities at the start of this week, analysts said.
China stocks fall after soft factory activity data; Hong Kong down
China stocks slipped on Friday, after the country’s factory activity growth slowed in April, with Shanghai shares set for weekly decline on worries over policy tightening and Sino-U.S. tensions.
The CSI300 index fell 0.3% to 5,150.71 by the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5% to 3,457.09.
For the week, CSI300 firmed 0.3%, while SSEC eased 0.5%.
· Singapore’s largest bank DBS sees profit soar 72% to a record $1.5 billion
Singapore’s largest bank DBS reported Friday that net profit soared 72% from a year ago to an all-time high in the first quarter of 2021.
DBS Group Holdings said net profit nearly doubled from the previous quarter and reached a historic high of 2.01 billion Singapore dollars ($1.52 billion) in the January to March period, thanks to accelerating business momentum.
· European stocks open slightly higher with spotlight on economic data, earnings
European stocks opened slightly higher on Friday morning, with investors’ attention turning to inflation and economic growth data, as well as corporate earnings.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.2% in early Friday trading, with the autos sector leading, up 1.1%, while banks were down nearly 0.5%.
· BNP Paribas gets a boost from equity trading as net profit rises 11%
BNP Paribas reported on Friday first-quarter net income of 1.8 billion euros ($2.18 billion) — an 11% increase from the previous quarter.
· Barclays beats expectations in the first quarter as loan impairment charges slide
Barclays on Friday reported first-quarter net profit of £1.7 billion ($2.37 billion), helped by a fall in loan impairment charges.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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