(Bloomberg) — U.S. equity-index futures rallied and Amazon.com Inc. led premarket gains in New York as earnings optimism returned to the technology sector. A hawkish chorus from central banks hurt stocks in Europe.
Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index rose 1.5% as e-commerce titan Amazon jumped 13% in early trading after posting a big beat on cloud-computing profit and raising the price of Prime memberships. Europe’s Stoxx 600 surrendered gains as growing rate-hike bets reduced risk appetite. Oil was on course for a seventh weekly advance. The dollar stared at the worst week since 2020.
The relief for equity investors comes after a $251 billion wipeout for Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. on Thursday sparked a global technology rout and pulled down U.S. indexes. Despite some weaker reports, the overall earnings picture in the world’s largest economy remains robust, providing investors a cushion against concerns ranging from Federal Reserve tightening to stubborn inflation.
Amazon’s premarket gains implied an increase of $184 billion in its market capitalization if the stock rises by the same extent during regular trading hours. Snap Inc. soared 55% as its first-quarter revenue forecast beat estimates.
While Meta’s sluggish numbers dominated the headlines on Thursday, the flurry of earnings releases showed they may be an exception rather than the rule. Of the 271 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported results, 82% have met or beaten estimates. Profits are coming in at 8.8% above projected levels.
Still, volatility has become the hallmark of global markets this year. Investors are trying to come to grips with less favorable monetary conditions and a moderating global recovery amid stubborn inflation.
“The first half this year we are now experiencing a rates shock,” Tracy Chen, portfolio manager at Brandywine Global Investment Management, said on Bloomberg Television. “If the Fed and BOE and other emerging-market central banks are too aggressive in hiking interest rates, potentially we are going to face kind of a recession risk in the second half, or at least more slowdown in the economy.”
Hawkish comments from European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and a Bank of England interest-rate hike underlined risks from inflation. While a selloff in the region’s bonds eased, the mood in the stock market turned sour.
The Stoxx 600 slipped 0.2% after rising as much as 0.5%. Makers of cars and parts were the worst-performing industry group, while gains for technology shares limited the gauge’s losses.
Treasuries advanced, with the 10-year rate shedding one basis point. The dollar was marginally lower, heading for a 1.4% decline this week.
Investors also awaited Friday’s official jobs report from the U.S., where they focused on wage growth to gauge the health of the economy and the potential for a further surge in inflation.
The looming jobs report “is a reminder that expectations for Fed policy are the key influence on this market right now,” wrote Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded The Sevens Report newsletter. A hot inflation print next week would “rekindle hawkish Fed concerns,” he added.
An Asia-Pacific equity gauge pushed higher partly on a 3% jump in Hong Kong, which was catching up with global markets after reopening from a holiday.
West Texas Intermediate hit a fresh seven-year high and surpassed $91 a barrel. Brent has surged 18% this year and banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. forecast it’ll reach $100.
For more market analysis, read our MLIV blog.
What to watch this week:
- U.S. payrolls report for January, Friday
- Winter Olympics kick off in China, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin due to attend opening ceremony, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.3% as of 9:49 a.m. London time
- Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.8%
- Futures on the Nasdaq 100 rose 1.5%
- Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%
- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.8%
- The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 1%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped less than 0.1%
- The euro was little changed at $1.1451
- The Japanese yen was little changed at 114.96 per dollar
- The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.3594 per dollar
- The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3572
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 1.82%
- Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 0.16%
- Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 1.37%
Commodities
- Brent crude rose 1.6% to $92.59 a barrel
- Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,809.97 an ounce
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