Australia

Australian shares are set to fall at the open, after big tech dragged the US market down.

ASX futures were down 0.3% or 18 points as of 8:00am on Thursday, suggesting a lower open.

The S&P 500 fell 1.4%, closing at its lowest level since May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 105 points, or 0.3%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 2.4% in a punishing session that pulled it down more than 10% from its recent high. Its losses accelerated in the afternoon, sending the gauge to one of its worst one-day declines of the year.

Shares of Google-parent Alphabet tumbled almost 10% after reporting quarterly results that showed disappointing growth in its cloud business. The company shed more than $166 billion in market value, its biggest one-day loss ever. Shares of Amazon.com and Nvidia also fell, lagging behind the broader market, while fintech company Affirm and payments company Block dropped sharply.

The technology rout Wednesday punctures a rally that had dominated for much of the year. Many investors have piled into a handful of big tech stocks in a wager that they will benefit from innovations tied to artificial intelligence and keep flourishing. Now, some of that excitement is fading during a packed week for third-quarter earnings results and one of the worst bond routs in recent memory.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil rose 2.2% to US$89.99 a barrel while gold was flat at US$1,979.84.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was higher at 4.33% while the 10 Year yield was also up at 4.72%. US Treasury notes were mixed, with the 2 Year yield flat at 5.12% and the 10 Year yield up at 4.95%.

The Australian dollar hit 63.07 US cents down from the previous close of 63.52. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was flat at 100.74.

Asia

Chinese shares closed mostly higher with investor sentiment boosted by China's additional CNY1 trillion central government bond issuance. However, a steady improvement in economic data and a more visible recovery of the property sector is likely needed to sustain the positive impact of the policy stimulus measures, CreditSights analysts say in a research note. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.4% higher at 2974.11, the Shenzhen Composite Index was up 0.9% while the tech-heavy ChiNext Price Index declined 0.9%. Food and liquor, and auto stocks led the gains. Kweichow Moutai rose 2.1% and Wuliangye Yibin added 3.7%. BYD advanced 0.8% and Great Wall Motor gained 1.1%. Telecommunications stocks fell, with China Unicom losing 3.6% after its 3Q results.

Hong Kong shares ended higher, snapping a four-session losing streak as consumer and tech sectors gained. PC maker Lenovo was the top gainer, up 7.3%, while NetEase added 3.3%. E-commerce giants Alibaba and JD.com added to the gains. Among consumer stocks, China Mengniu Dairy and Trip.com rose 3.5% and 2.9% respectively. In focus were measures Hong Kong announced to boost its property market. Property stocks had a mixed reaction to the news, which included tax cuts for homebuyers. Country Garden slipped 0.3% and Longfor Group rose 0.4%. Real-estate firm CBRE said in a comment that the measures could be effective long term, but that housing prices will stay under pressure in the short run, with high interest rates still a major barrier for buying decisions. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.55% to 17085.33 and the Hang Seng Tech Index added 2.2%.

Japanese stocks ended higher, led by gains in automakers and trading houses as concerns about the Middle East conflict recede for now. Toyota Motor gained 1.6% and Mitsubishi Corp. climbed 2.3%. Kokusai Electric jumped 28% on its market debut following an $830 million initial public offering. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.7% to 31269.92. Investors are focusing on earnings and the latest developments in the war between Hamas and Israel. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield rises 1 bps to 0.850%. USD/JPY is at 149.83, compared with 149.91 as of Tuesday 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

India's Sensex fell 0.8% to close at 64049.06, reversing earlier gains. Markets struggled for clear direction, with Asia equities ending mixed. Focus was on fresh stimulus from China, continued concerns about the Chinese property sector after the reported default of a major developer, and simmering tensions in the Middle East. Losses on India's benchmark index were led by financial stocks such as IndusInd Bank, which fell 1.8%, and ICICI Bank, which dropped 1.5%. Other decliners included Infosys, which lost 2.8%, and Bharti Airtel, which was down 1.9%.

Europe

European stocks mostly rose as banks and financial stocks gained following sector results. The DAX edged 0.1% higher and the CAC 40 advanced 0.3%, though the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 traded broadly flat. Deutsche Bank rallied 8% and Lloyds Banking Group and Banco Santander climbed 2% after 3Q results. "While Lloyds initially struggled for gains, German lender Deutsche Bank has seen its shares rise on the back of a management pledge to look at increasing payouts after 3Q revenues came in ahead of forecasts," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson wrote. Oil stocks trade slightly higher as Brent crude rose 0.6% to $87.72 a barrel.

The FTSE 100 closed up 0.3% on Wednesday helped by China's plans to increase infrastructure spending to boost its economy, which lifted metals prices and mining stocks such as Rio Tinto and Glencore, CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said in a note. Lloyds was the day's biggest riser, followed by Rio Tinto and Bunzl, up 2.2%, 1.9% and 1.8% respectively. Ocado was the session's biggest faller, down 9.4%, with Reckitt Benckiser down 4% and JD Sports Fashion down 2.1%.

North America

A steep drop in shares of Alphabet, Amazon.com and other technology companies dragged the Nasdaq Composite into correction territory Wednesday.

The tech-heavy index slid 2.4% in a punishing session that pulled it down more than 10% from its recent high. Its losses accelerated in the afternoon, sending the gauge to one of its worst one-day declines of the year.

The S&P 500 fell 1.4%, closing at its lowest level since May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 105 points, or 0.3%.

Shares of Google-parent Alphabet tumbled almost 10% after reporting quarterly results that showed disappointing growth in its cloud business. The company shed more than $166 billion in market value, its biggest one-day loss ever. Shares of Amazon.com and Nvidia also fell, lagging behind the broader market, while fintech company Affirm and payments company Block dropped sharply.

The technology rout Wednesday punctures a rally that had dominated for much of the year. Many investors have piled into a handful of big tech stocks in a wager that they will benefit from innovations tied to artificial intelligence and keep flourishing. Now, some of that excitement is fading during a packed week for third-quarter earnings results and one of the worst bond routs in recent memory.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.952% on Wednesday and breached 5% on Monday for the first time in 16 years. Yields rise as bond prices fall.

To some analysts and investors, the recent volatility is a harbinger of more turmoil ahead and a wake-up call that the stock market's stars—megacap tech stocks—are susceptible to sharp swings after their results. Meta Platforms and IBM report this week, and investors are bracing for more dramatic moves.

"These are the crown jewels" of the stock market, said Raheel Siddiqui, senior investment strategist at Neuberger Berman. "But they are not immune."

Texas Instruments also reported lackluster third-quarter earnings results, weighing on other semiconductor stocks. Shares of Texas Instruments shed 3.5%. Nvidia lost more than 4.3%, and AMD and Intel each dropped around 5%.

Though tech stocks were among the hardest hit, the losses were broad. Nine of 11 of the S&P 500's sectors notched declines, including the healthcare and real-estate groups. The Russell 2000 index of small companies, which has been flashing a recession signal, dropped 1.7% and sank deeper into the red for the year.

Of course, it hasn't been all bad; cloud results at Microsoft gave its shares a boost. The stock added 3.1%.

Investors remained focused on the government-bond market, which has been prone to wild daily swings. Some businesses are feeling the heat from the sharp rise in mortgage rates, which have ascended alongside Treasury yields.

Shares of TransUnion, one of the three major credit-reporting firms, fell 7.1% Wednesday after a 23% swoon in the prior session. The company, which provides credit scoring and related tools for lenders' underwriting decisions, cut its expectations for this year and pulled its 2025 financial targets, after lower mortgage activity dented its business. Executives also flagged a broader slowdown in banks' consumer lending.

Home Depot shares have slid for seven consecutive sessions, the longest losing streak since 2016, before a rush to buy homes and fix them up during the pandemic sent shares to records.

Some investors said the market was due for a turbulent stretch after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbed for much of the year.

"This volatility that we're seeing in the market is nothing unusual," said Larry Adam, chief investment officer at Raymond James.

Still, Adam said he expects bond yields to moderate and for the economy to slow in coming months.

Many investors remain hungry for risk. Bitcoin prices have soared to some of their highest levels in more than a year lately, in part because of hopes that an exchange-traded fund tied to the cryptocurrency will be approved by regulators.