SINGAPORE- Asian stocks fell on Thursday as disappointing earnings forecasts from Facebook parent Meta Platforms hammered tech shares, while the yen’s slump past 155 per dollar for the first time since 1990 raised the specter of intervention from Tokyo.
A 15 percent dive in shares of Meta in extended trading after the Instagram parent forecast lighter-than-expected current quarter revenue and higher expenses soured the mood, sparking a sell-off in US tech and tech-related stocks.
The hit to Asian tech stocks took MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.5 percent . Japan’s Nikkei slid 2 percent .
The listless mood is set to continue in Europe, with Eurostoxx 50 futures down 0.12 percent , German DAX futures down 0.14 percent and FTSE futures 0.06 percent lower.
In an earnings-packed week, tech bellwethers are in the spotlight, with Alphabet Microsoft and Intel due to report on Thursday.
“If Meta is a guide, it seems the market is simply not tolerant of in-line — if you’ve had a good run through Q1 & Q2 you either blow the lights out, or the market takes its pound of flesh,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.
European earnings is also under way, with banking firms Deutsche Bank BNP Paribas SA Barclays PLC due to report on Thursday.
Tech stocks had gotten a boost on Wednesday after Tesla said it would introduce “new models” by early 2025 using its current platforms and production lines.
Beyond corporate earnings, investor focus will be on the first quarter US gross domestic product data on Thursday and personal consumption expenditures, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, for March on Friday.
A hotter-than-expected consumer price inflation report for March pushed back expectations of when the Fed will begin cutting interest rates, with markets pricing in a 70 percent chance of the first cut coming in September, CME FedWatch Tool showed.
Traders are pricing in 43 basis points of easing in 2024, drastically less than the 150 basis points they anticipated at the start of this year.
