Australia

Australian shares are set to edge lower following a dip on Wall Street after poor corporate earnings reports. ASX futures were down 51 points or 0.75% at 6740 as of 7:00am on Thursday, pointing to a slip at the open.

US stock indexes fell Wednesday afternoon as investors weighed a batch of solid corporate earnings reports against their concerns that continued interest-rate increases will cause a recession.

The S&P 500 declined 0.9% after spending the morning bouncing between gains and losses. It has been a volatile stretch for the broad-market index, which closed up 1.1% on Tuesday. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.5%.

"I think the broader issue in this earnings season is really not just how companies are doing, but the macro issues with interest rates and Fed policy," said Jimmy Chang, chief investment officer at Rockefeller Global Family Office.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil jumped 2.13% to $US91.95 a barrel, gold edged down 1.4% to US$1,628.74

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds rose to 3.38% while the 10 Year rose to 3.94%. Overseas, the yield on 2 Year US Treasury notes rose to 4.55% and the yield on the 10 Year US Treasury notes was up at 4.13%.

The Australian dollar hit 62.67 US cents down from the previous close of 63.14. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies edged up to 104.88.

Asia

Chinese shares ended lower, dragged by liquor makers, as market sentiment cools after a recent rally. The baijiu sector has been weighed by subdued holiday sales and recent rumors about a ban on alcohol consumption for civil servants, Donghai Securities says. Index heavyweight Kweichow Moutai retreated 3.4% to its lowest close since March. Its peer Wuliangye Yibin slid 2.6%. Logistics stocks outperformed the market amid signs of improving freight rates for oil tankers. Cosco Shipping Energy jumped 10% and China Merchants Energy rose 7.7%. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.2% to 3044.38, the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 1.2% and the ChiNext Price Index was 0.9% lower.

Japanese stocks end higher, led by gains in utility and tech stocks, as concerns ease about the costs of fuel and borrowing. Tokyo Gas gains 2.4% and SoftBank Group climbs 3.7%. The Nikkei Stock Average rises 0.4% to 27257.38. Economic data are in focus.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended 2.4% lower at 16511.28, reversing this week's gains so far, as tech shares dragged on the market. The Hang Seng Tech index gave up 4.2%, weakening from yesterday's upturn. Meituan slid 6.2%, JD.com lost 5.6%, while Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings each declined more than 4%. HKEX dropped 2.0% after posting a 30% decline in 3Q net profit. Chinese consumer-product companies also retreated, with China Resources Beer down 5.1% and Nongfu Spring 5.0% lower. Li Ning was among top laggards with a 6.4% fall after the sportswear maker apologized over confusion caused by some product designs that were said to resemble Japanese military outfits.

Europe

European stocks fell after mixed Asia trading. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 is down 0.53%. the German DAX retreats 0.19%, and the French CAC 40 lost 0.4%.

In London, the FTSE 100 closed down 0.2% as data showed that U.K. annual inflation rose more than expected to 10.1% in September, and amid reports that windfall taxes hurt banking stocks.

"For the moment, the march of earnings season might help keep inflation and central banks off the front pages, but this will change in time, spelling further trouble for equities," IG analyst Chris Beauchamp said in a note.

Kingfisher was the day's biggest faller, down 5.9%, followed by Segro and Lloyds Banking Group, both down 4.7%. BP was the session's biggest riser, up 2.3%, followed by IAG and Pershing Square Holdings, both up 1.9%.

North America

US stock indexes fell Wednesday afternoon as investors weighed a batch of solid corporate earnings reports against their concerns that continued interest-rate increases will cause a recession.

The S&P 500 declined 0.9% after spending the morning bouncing between gains and losses. It has been a volatile stretch for the broad-market index, which closed up 1.1% on Tuesday. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.5%.

All year, soaring inflation has dimmed the investing outlook, but better-than-expected quarterly results from large US banks had boosted stocks in recent sessions. A stream of mostly upbeat reports from diverse companies Tuesday and Wednesday reinforced a sense that the business climate has held up well so far.

Still, anxiety about inflation and the Federal Reserve's response continued to preoccupy investors on Wednesday. The persistence of rising prices -- which have consistently exceeded investors' expectations over the past year -- makes strong earnings reports a double-edged sword.

"I think the broader issue in this earnings season is really not just how companies are doing, but the macro issues with interest rates and Fed policy," said Jimmy Chang, chief investment officer at Rockefeller Global Family Office.

Signs that shoppers aren't ready to stop spending on dining, vacations and entertainment reinforce the case for more Fed interest-rate increases to come, which many investors think could cause a serious recession in the next year.

Inflation may reduce the central bank's perceived leeway to shift gears and ease policy again to cushion the economy when it does slow. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Fed's computer model is estimating US economic output rose at 2.9% in the third quarter, suggesting central bankers may not yet done enough to cool economic activity.

Rising prices continue to scuttle investors' optimism, with more bad inflation news on Wednesday suggesting that global central banks will continue to raise interest rates. The U.K. reported 10.1% inflation year over year for September, underscoring a difficult path ahead for the Bank of England as it also navigates a series of fiscal-policy reversals by the British government.

Canada's annual inflation rate, likewise reported Wednesday, was 6.9% in September, slightly above what economists had forecast.

President Biden said Wednesday that he will consider additional releases of strategic oil reserves with the aim of lowering prices. Still, oil prices edged up, with global crude benchmark Brent climbing 2.6% to $92.41 a barrel.

In other earnings news, Procter & Gamble shares climbed 1.1% after the consumer-goods company lowered its outlook for full-year sales and its quarterly earnings came in above Wall Street's estimates. Netflix jumped 12% after it said it gained 2.4 million new subscribers last quarter, more than double the level it was expecting.

But Ally Financial, a major consumer lender, fell 7.9% after it reported a drop in earnings and said it set aside more funds in reserve against potential loan losses.
Tesla and IBM are expected to report earnings after markets close.