Asian shares mostly declined on Thursday as investors awaited a flood of global earnings reports, including updates from U.S. tech companies known as the “Magnificent Seven.” Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slid 1.4% in morning trading, while South Korea’s Kospi dropped nearly 1.0%. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.5% and the Shanghai Composite edged 0.2% higher.
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 started Thursday. The yen has been trading at 155 yen-levels lately, its lowest level in 34 years, which helps Japanese exporters but raises the price of imports.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 was virtually flat, the Dow Jones slipped, and the Nasdaq added slightly. Tesla jumped 12.1% after announcing plans to accelerate production of new, more affordable vehicles. Meta Platforms also reported its latest results, with Alphabet and Microsoft set to follow.
The hope is that profit growth will broaden beyond the Magnificent Seven to other types of companies, supported by a strong U.S. economy. A report on Wednesday showed stronger-than-expected orders for machinery and other manufactured goods. Boeing lost 2.9% despite better-than-expected results, while Teledyne Technologies tumbled 10.9%.
On the winning side, Hasbro jumped 11.9% after reporting better-than-expected profit and revenue, benefiting from growth in its games and content. Texas Instruments climbed 5.6% after strong quarterly results, and Boston Scientific rose 5.7% after topping forecasts.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude declined to $82.66 a barrel, while Brent crude fell to $87.88 a barrel. Overall, a strong earnings season looks likely to help restore market confidence, according to experts.
