United States
Equities slipped Thursday as investors dumped growth stocks after Wednesday's rally. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 lost 0.9 percent, and the NASDAQ dropped 2.5 percent.
Many technology shares that rose Wednesday depressed the averages as they retreated Thursday. A drop in Adobe, down 10.2 percent after a gloomy revenue forecast, helped trigger the tech selloff. Heavily-weighted Microsoft fell 2.9 percent, and Apple fell 3.9 percent after rising 1.6 percent on Wednesday. Momentum favorite Nvidia fell 6.8 percent on negative analyst commentary after rising the same amount on Wednesday. AMD was another big loser, down 5.4 percent.
Consumer staples were hurt by weakness in Amazon, down 2.6 percent, and Tesla fell 5.0 percent. Lennar, the homebuilder, lost 4.1 percent after missing on earnings and sales and warning about more supply chain trouble ahead.
Value stocks fared better, paced by energy, banks, metals, machinery, and pharma. Energy stocks tracked oil prices higher. Pharma stocks rallied with Pfizer up 4.2 percent on expectations of booming anti-Covid business. Novovax jumped 8.6 percent on reports regulators will approve its Covid vaccine soon.
Among companies in focus, Target, the retailer, lost 5.0 percent after an analyst downgrade. On the positive side, Accenture jumped 6.7 percent after an earnings beat and better guidance.
These price data reflect observations at 4:00 PM US ET: Dated Brent spot crude oil rose 45 cents to US$74.76 while spot gold rose US$19.41 to US$1,798.30. The US dollar fell vs. most major currencies. The US Treasury 30-year bond yield was unchanged at 1.87 percent, and the 10-year note yield declined 2 basis points to 1.43 percent.
Europe
Equities advanced in positive reaction to Thursday's batch of central bank policy announcements, with an extra boost from basic resources stocks. The Europe-wide STOXX 600 rose 1.2 percent, the German DAX gained 1.0 percent, the French CAC rose 1.1 percent, and the UK FTSE 100 rallied 1.3 percent.
Investors were generally relieved the Fed's policy announcement Wednesday was not more hawkish than it was, and reacted in a similar way to the European Central Bank's plans for its various asset purchase facilities, including news that it will keep reinvesting proceeds from its pandemic emergency program through 2024, even as it phases out new purchases and continues other bond purchases. The market also took in stride the Bank of England's rate 15 basis point rate increase, and UK banks outperformed with rising gilt yields.
Among sectors, basic resources led the winners on strength in industrial metals. Oil & gas prices perked up too, with TotalEnergies up 3.2 percent. Technology shares advanced too though a retreat in tech stocks trimmed the early gains. On the downside, real estate and media lagged.
Among companies, Valneva rose 15 percent after positive news on its Covid booster, and Novartis gained 5.8 percent after announcing a share buyback. Airbus rose 2.7 percent on a big order from Qantas, the Australian airline. On the downside, boohoo group, the retailer, plunged 32 percent after slashing guidance.
Asia Pacific
Relief that the Fed policy announcement matched expectations lifted risk appetite with Japanese markets outperforming as the region tracked Wall Street's gains on Wednesday.
A strong end to US trading lifted Japanese equities with the Nikkei 225 up 2.1 percent and the Topix up 1.5 percent. Growth stocks outperformed value, in line with strength in US tech stocks after the Fed decision. A big rally in shipping stocks led the winners, along with mining, appliances, pharma, banks, and automakers.
China's CSI 300 index rose 0.6 percent and the Shanghai composite index gained 0.8 percent with most sectors higher and energy stocks leading. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index firmed 0.2 percent as health care rebounded, while weakness in financials limited the gains.
South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.6 percent and Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.7 percent, with tech stocks tracking US gains.
Australia's All Ordinaries index slipped 0.2 percent with steep losses in health care offsetting strength elsewhere. CSL, the biotech, fell 8.2 percent to depress health care stocks after a trading halt and share placement in connection with its deal to buy Vifor Pharma.
Looking ahead*
In Asia/Pacific, the Bank of Japan policy announcement and Singapore's merchandise trade report are scheduled. In Europe, the following are due: German PPI, German Ifo survey, UK retail sales, and Eurozone HICP. In North America, no major reports are on tap.
