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Global equities traded mixed on Wednesday, as investors juggled corporate results with worries about the threat to economic recoveries from surging global Covid-19 infections.
dealt a further blow to technology stocks with disappointing results.
Asian stocks fell across the board, with the exception of a slight gain for the China CSI 300. The
slid 2% as Covid-19 cases climbed in Japan, with Tokyo and Osaka possibly facing new lockdowns. Soaring infections in India also worried Wall Street investors on Tuesday, with that and a weakening vaccine-and-reopening narrative helping to drag the
the
and
lower. Investors were also taking profits from a monthslong rally.
The
rebounded 0.6% after the biggest one-day fall in four months, amid a fresh crop of upbeat results. U.S. stock futures traded mixed, with those for the Nasdaq-100 lower, after streaming giant Netflix’s subscriber growth fell short of Wall Street forecasts. Shares were down nearly 8% in premarket trading.
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“The cement of reality that is the earnings season is of no great help to a market trading on hope. Hope in the form of a cyclical recovery and a longer-term world where too many unicorns jostle for far too few slots,” said
Sebastien Galy,
senior macro strategist at Nordea, to clients in a note.
“This is the essence of a liquidity-fed rally and as the U.S. economy gains traction the debate on tapering should restart anew and with it higher US Treasury yields hitting growth,” said Galy.
There are no U.S. data on the calendar for Wednesday, with investors likely to focus on more corporate results, with
and
among the companies due to report ahead of Wall Street’s open.
and
are the big names expected after the close.
Shares of
surged 5%, after the Dutch semiequipment maker raised its revenue guidance for 2021, citing a significant increase in demand, and said net profit for the first quarter of the year soared on net sales that came in ahead of its forecasts.
Shares of Dutch brewer
climbed 4%, after reporting higher net profit in the first quarter on the back of stronger volumes in more than 40 of its markets.
Shares of soccer clubs were on the move, after plans for an elite Super League fell apart as six English clubs pulled out, amid backlash from fans and threats to thwart it from the U.K. government. That leaves only Spanish and Italian clubs, and shares of
slid 12% in Milan, while
followed up losses on Tuesday with a 1% fall in premarket trading.
