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TOKYO (AP) — Asian stocks fell mostly Thursday as investors awaited a flurry of global earnings reports, including updates from U.S. technology companies known as the “Magnificent Seven.”
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 2.1% to 37,670.50. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.4% to 2,637.18. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose almost 0.1% to 17,215.51, while the Shanghai Composite was virtually unchanged at 3,044.41.
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Trading was closed in Australia for a national holiday, Anzac Day.
Attention is also turning to the Bank of Japan, whose two-day monetary policy meeting began on Thursday.
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“For the record, the excitement in the room for the BOJ ahead of tomorrow’s policy decision is the extraordinary weakness of the Japanese yen,” Mizuho Bank’s Tan Jing Yi said in a commentary.
In foreign exchange trading, the US dollar rose to 155.67 Japanese yen from 155.31 yen. The euro was at $1.0715, up from $1.0697.
The yen last traded at 155 yen, its lowest level in 34 years. This helps Japanese exporters by increasing the value of their overseas earnings, but also increases the price of imports. Speculation is growing that Japan could intervene to support the yen.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 was virtually unchanged, rising less than 0.1% to 5,071.63. The price had risen sharply in the first two days of the week, recouping almost two-thirds of last week’s sharp loss.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1% to 38,460.92 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1% to 15,712.75.
Tesla rose 12.1% after saying the night before it would accelerate production of new, more affordable vehicles that investors had hoped would boost growth. The announcement helped investors look past Tesla’s reported 55% profit decline.
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Tesla is the first of the group of stocks among the Magnificent Seven to report its results for early 2024. The focus is on the small group of stocks because they accounted for most of the US stock market’s gain last year, and that’s what they’ll need to deliver to justify their high prices.
Meta Platforms also announced its latest results after trading ended on Wednesday. Alphabet and Microsoft will follow a day later.
The hope is that earnings growth will spread beyond the Magnificent Seven to other types of companies, thanks in large part to a remarkably solid U.S. economy. They probably need to make higher profits if their stock prices are to rise. That’s because the other lever that can drive up stock prices is unlikely to help them: interest rates.
“A strong earnings season should help restore market confidence,” said Solita Marcelli, chief investment officer Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management.
Orders for machinery, aircraft and other durable industrial goods were stronger than expected last month, according to a report Wednesday. A recent series of such reports have dashed hopes that the Federal Reserve could make the previously announced three interest rate cuts this year.
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Boeing fell 2.9%, although results were not as bad as analysts feared. The company, which has struggled with criticism over the safety of its planes, said it was taking steps to improve manufacturing quality, which has led to a slowdown in production.
Teledyne Technologies slumped 10.9%, posting one of the market’s biggest losses, after the seller of digital image sensors, cameras and other devices reported weaker profits and sales than forecast. Demand from the markets for industrial automation and test and measurement technology was weaker than expected.
On the winning side of the market, Hasbro rose 11.9% after the toy and game maker reported better-than-analysts expected earnings and sales for its latest quarter. The company benefited from the growth of its Baldur Gate 3 and Magic: The Gathering games, as well as its Peppa Pig content.
Texas Instruments rose 5.6% after reporting higher-than-forecast earnings and sales for its latest quarter. Boston Scientific was also among the stronger forces driving the S&P 500 higher. The index rose 5.7% after beating profit and revenue forecasts.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 14 cents to $82.95 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 17 cents to $88.19 a barrel.
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