Disappointing results fueled by heavy cash burn erased hundreds of billions of dollars from leading technology firms, dragging down regional benchmarks including South Korea's KOSPI and mainland Chinese equities. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged, yet dissents within the committee kept rate hike expectations elevated for December. Currency and commodity markets also reacted swiftly, with crude oil slipping after U.S. officials initiated communications to revive Iranian peace talks.
Key points
Heavy artificial intelligence expenditures are raising investor concerns about profitabil…: Heavy artificial intelligence expenditures are raising investor concerns about profitability despite strong performance from select tech giants like Microsoft.
Markets continue to price in an 80 percent probability of a Federal Reserve rate increase…: Markets continue to price in an 80 percent probability of a Federal Reserve rate increase before year-end following two committee dissents.
Diverging monetary policies among global central banks are driving foreign exchange swing…: Diverging monetary policies among global central banks are driving foreign exchange swings, demonstrated by the decline of the New Zealand dollar.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
SYDNEY: Asian shares gave up earlier gains on Thursday (Oct 29) as AI-related earnings announcements prompted wildly mixed responses, raising the stakes for Amazon and Intel results due later in the day.
Hefty cash burn from Alphabet sent its shares 10 per cent lower in after-hours trading, wiping nearly US$400 billion off its market value. That drove Nasdaq futures 1 per cent lower. Microsoft, by contrast, beat forecasts with better-than-expected cash flows that lifted its shares by 3 per cent.
Overnight, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady as widely expected, but two committee members voted for a hike. Chair Kevin Warsh struck a more confident note on the inflation outlook during his press conference, sparking a rally in Treasuries.
However, the bigger test came from earnings. Samsung Electronics said on Thursday its operating profit rose nearly ninefold to a record high in the third quarter, driven by robust demand for AI chips. Its shares still slid more than 4 per cent and dragged the broader KOSPI index down 2.6 per cent after a nearly 7 per cent surge a…
The Rajkot-based packaging manufacturer aims to deploy fresh capital toward expanding production capacity and funding daily operations. Having doubled its bottom line over the past fiscal year, the firm is seeking public market support to serve heavy industrial and agricultural clients. A successful offering will lead to its debut on the BSE SME platform.
Upbeat corporate guidance from key semiconductor equipment makers offered early momentum to Asian equities, though broader participation faded as session trading progressed. Widespread investor caution ahead of the Bank of Japan's pending policy announcement prompted many participants to trim risk. Mixed cues from overseas technology giants further dampened appetite across regional artificial intelligence and hardware sectors.
Investors turned cautious after the e-commerce firm's net loss remained largely unchanged on a sequential basis despite significant top-line expansion. While efficiency improvements and logistics gains drew optimism from some analysts, others expressed concern over top-line merchandise metrics trailing expectations. The divergent views reflect market debate over the company's timeline for operational profitability.