(Bloomberg) — U.S. equity futures and Asian stocks slid Friday as traders weighed signs of a slowdown ahead for megacap technology companies and risks from China’s regulatory crackdown. Treasuries and the dollar rose.
Stocks fell in Hong Kong and China as well as Japan. Nasdaq 100 contracts shed more than 1% as Amazon.com Inc. tumbled in extended trading on indications its rapid growth through the pandemic is waning. Asia-Pacific stocks had jumped Thursday after Beijing tried to allay fears over regulatory curbs on private industries, but U.S.-listed Chinese equities later resumed declines.
S&P 500 futures also fell. The gauge rose overnight on data signaling scope for the Federal Reserve to keep policy ultra-loose. U.S. economic growth was solid while trailing estimates. Jobless claims dropped but were higher than forecast.
The dollar snapped a four-day retreat but is on course for its biggest weekly drop since May. Oil mostly held recent gains on expectations that demand from economic reopening will weather delta-strain Covid-19 flareups.
Stocks are rounding out a volatile week amid Beijing’s clampdown on private enterprise, which sparked a rout in Hong Kong and China and briefly caused wider risk aversion. Concerns about the economic impact of the delta variant are also lingering: Japan plans to expand a state of emergency to areas surrounding Tokyo and extend it to the end of August, and the Philippines will place its capital under a strict lockdown starting next month.
“Investors need to be cognizant of policy implementation and policy direction” in China, Catherine Yeung, Fidelity International investment director, said on Bloomberg Television. “We expect to see further volatility, not just because of the regulatory issues or evolving regulation that could come through, but we have the earnings season in August, we also have the global risks still.”
Amazon’s second-quarter sales and revenue forecast missed estimates, stoking the debate about whether tech stocks’ pandemic-related outperformance will give way to a revival in the cyclical trade tied to economic recovery from the health crisis.
Elsewhere, Robinhood Markets Inc. ended its first day as a public company 8.4% below its initial public offering price after failing to win over some of the very retail investors it’s courting for long-term growth. Bitcoin continued to trade around $40,000, maintaining its recent rebound.
For more market analysis read our MLIV blog.
Here are the main moves in the markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures declined 0.8% as of 7 a.m. in London. The S&P 500 index rose 0.4%Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.4%. The Nasdaq 100 increased 0.2%Japan’s Topix index fell 1.4%Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index slid 0.4%South Korea’s Kospi retreated 1.2%Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tumbled 2.1%China’s Shanghai Composite index lost 0.7%Euro Stoxx 50 futures declined 0.7%
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index added 0.1%The euro was at $1.1879The Japanese yen was at 109.54 per dollarThe offshore yuan was at 6.4672 per dollar
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped three basis points to 1.24%Australia’s 10-year bond yield increased three basis points to 1.19%
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude was at $73.08 a barrel, down 0.7%Gold was at $1,828.05 an ounce
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