Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, as US investors digested the latest earnings reports.

ASX futures were up 0.4% or 29 points as of 8:00am on Thursday, suggesting a higher open.

Earnings reports took center stage Wednesday. Stocks ticked lower as investors digested the latest reports, threatening a run of recent gains.

The S&P 500 logged its longest winning streak in two years on Tuesday after rising for a seventh straight session. The S&P 500, Dow industrials and Nasdaq Composite made small moves, with the Dow down less than 100 points.

Meanwhile, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, which falls when bond prices rise, has fallen from above 5% just a few weeks ago to below 4.6%.

With a light calendar of economic data this week, some traders are focusing on the bond market. A $40 billion auction of 10-year Treasurys, slated for early afternoon, is expected to test demand for U.S. debt.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil fell 2.2% to US$79.84 a barrel while gold fell 1.0% to US$1,949.78.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was lower at 4.22% while the 10 Year yield was also down at 4.58%. US Treasury notes were down, with the 2 Year yield at 4.94% and the 10 Year yield at 4.51%.

The Australian dollar hit 64.01 US cents down from the previous close of 64.34. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was up at 99.95.

Asia

Chinese shares ended mixed. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.2% lower at 3052.37, the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.1% to 1920.84, while the ChiNext Price Index ended flat. The insurance sector led the losses with China Pacific Insurance falling 2.5%. Ping An Insurance shed 1.5% after the company denied a Reuters report that it was taking a controlling stake in Country Garden. Entertainment stocks advanced with Zhejiang Talent Television & Film rising 20%, reaching the daily limit. Hicon Network Technology (Shandong) also gained 15%.

Hong Kong shares closed lower, giving up earlier gains sparked by lower oil prices and U.S. bond yields. Investors await China's October inflation data due Thursday morning to further gauge the health of the world's second-largest economy. Insurance and auto stocks led losses. AIA Group dipped 1.35% and Ping An Insurance declined 5.4% after denying a news report that it had been asked by Chinese authorities to take over Country Garden Holdings and its debts. Country Garden was up 8.85% in reaction to the report. Li Auto was down 4.2% and XPeng was down 7.4%. The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed 0.6% lower at 17568.46. The Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 0.9%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.3% to close at 32166.48, reversing earlier gains, dragged by losses across the majority of sectors, particularly mining, oil and gas. Hawkish remarks from some Fed officials overnight may have also weighed on domestic equity markets. Among the worst performers on the benchmark index, Unicharm fell 9.05%, Tokyo Gas dropped 7.9%, and ENEOS Holdings shed 6.85%. Meanwhile, Mazda Motor rose 10.4% after it raised fiscal-year revenue and net-profit views. USD/JPY was at 150.65, compared with 150.28 as of Tuesday's Tokyo stock market close. The 10-year JGB yield was down 3bps at 0.845%.

Indian shares closed barely changed, with the market supported by manufacturing and consumer stocks. The U.S. Federal Reserve has continued to leave the door open to additional rate hikes amid economic resilience, and this could drive worries that the market may have prematurely priced for an end to the hiking cycle,IG market strategist Jun Rong Yeap said. The benchmark Sensex was up 0.05% at 64975.61. Asian Paints led gains, rising 2.0% and Avenue Supermarts rose 1.6%. Titan Co. was up 1.2%. The finance and tech sector led losses. ICICI Bank dropped 1.4% and Bajaj Finance was down 0.5%. Infosys shed 0.9% and Tech Mahindra was down 0.8%.

Europe

European stocks traded mixed after similarly directionless Asia trading. The Stoxx Europe 600 traded flat and the DAX edged 0.1% lower, with banks and utilities among the biggest fallers, though the CAC 40 rose 0.1%. Oil shares retreated as Brent crude dropped 0.6% to $81.13 a barrel. Stocks in Australia and mainland China rose, but markets in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea lost ground. "Global stocks continue to see their momentum slow, with the focus turning to speeches today and tomorrow from Jerome Powell, which dominate an otherwise quiet macro-economic calendar," IG analysts wrote.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.1% to 7400 points as investors traded cautiously ahead of Wednesday's speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. "The [FTSE 100] index is flat, despite more gains in the U.S. overnight, and the debate continues to oscillate between higher rates for longer and the prospect of rate cuts in 2024," AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said in a note. Investment company Hargreaves Lansdown fell 2.3% following a sell rating by UBS Research while insurer Prudential declined 2.3%. Retail company Marks and Spencer Group gained 9.7% after a jump in 1H profit, lifting other retailers such as Associated British Foods and Next, up 1.7% and 0.7% respectively.

North America

Earnings reports took center stage Wednesday. Stocks ticked lower as investors digested the latest reports, threatening a run of recent gains.

The S&P 500 logged its longest winning streak in two years on Tuesday after rising for a seventh straight session. The S&P 500, Dow industrials and Nasdaq Composite made small moves, with the Dow down less than 100 points.

Meanwhile, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, which falls when bond prices rise, has fallen from above 5% just a few weeks ago to below 4.6%.

With a light calendar of economic data this week, some traders are focusing on the bond market. A $40 billion auction of 10-year Treasurys, slated for early afternoon, is expected to test demand for U.S. debt.

The U.S. dollar rose for a third straight day. The euro weakened after data showed German inflation fell to its lowest rate in more than two years.

Investors reacted to company earnings. Nintendo rose after announcing plans for a new live-action movie, while New York Times shares climbed after reporting continued digital-subscriber growth. Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery fell after the company said it lost subscribers in the third quarter.

Shares of both recently-split Kellogg's businesses, WK Kellogg and Kellanova, rose after beating analyst expectations.