US futures hit by Alphabet's weak earnings, gold surges to record high

US stock futures fell on Wednesday after disappointing earnings from Alphabet, while the dollar took a dive against the yen, which rallied sharply after Japanese wage data upped the chances of another rate hike.

Investors shrugged off comments from President Donald Trump that the US would like to take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically.

The suggestion came out of the blue and underlined the risk of more policy uncertainty and market volatility ahead. Gold hit another record high, driven mostly by a weaker dollar.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.5 per cent and Nasdaq futures lost 0.9 per cent.

 

"Trump's comments on Gaza and potential US military occupation are not being taken seriously by investors. There may be ramifications in bringing about a broader peace settlement, and comments like these also possibly lessen the importance ascribed to other pronouncements - comments like tariffs being an obvious area," said Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Volatility across markets has run high in the last few trading days since Trump announced he would slap tariffs on Canada and Mexico, only to backpedal within hours and agree to a one-month delay.

Some sense of calm returned by Wednesday, leaving investors to focus on more micro-led events such as company earnings, where Google parent Alphabet missed forecasts as it ramped up spending on capex. Its shares fell 7 per cent in premarket trading, suggesting a heavy fall at the opening bell later.

Other stocks in focus were Walt Disney, which rose 0.8 per cent, while those in ride-hailing app Uber dropped 4 per cent.

In Europe, activity was dominated by a heavy day for earnings, where shares in Novo Nordisk, the most valuable company in the region, rose 1.6 per cent after beating fourth-quarter expectations, which helped lift the STOXX 600 by 0.1 per cent on the day.

The delays to tariffs have eased concern about how much scope the Federal Reserve might have to cut interest rates this year, pushing Treasury yields lower, although with China and Europe still in Trump's sights, the mood was cautious.

"The period of doubt - during which worries about 'tariff risk' prevails in the market - is not over yet," Thierry Wizman, global FX and rates strategist at Macquarie, said in a note.

"Traders may revisit those doubts in 30 days, as Trump tries to extract more concessions from Mexico and Canada, and then the EU."

Dollar softens

Yields on two-year Treasuries eased 2 basis points on the day to below 4.2 per cent, which in turn took some sheen off the dollar. The US currency is relatively flat so far this year against a basket of major currencies, having risen 7 per cent in 2024.

Chinese markets returned from a week-long break for the Lunar New Year holidays. China has, so far, made a relatively restrained response to Trump's additional 10 per cent in tariffs, announcing levies that cover just $14 billion of US exports.

Beijing set a firm fix for its yuan, countering concerns that it might allow the currency to slide to offset the impact of tariffs on its exports.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Japanese yen strengthened sharply against a range of currencies, after upbeat data on wages supported expectations of further tightening by the Bank of Japan this year.

The dollar fell 1 per cent against the yen to 152.785, while the euro was down 0.6 per cent at 159.09.

Against the dollar, the euro rose 0.3 per cent to $1.041, having pulled off a two-year trough of $1.0125 at the start of the week. The dollar also fell 0.2 per cent against the Canadian dollar to C$1.4293, below this week's 22-year high at C$1.4792.

In commodities, gold hit a fresh all-time high at $2,877 an ounce, buoyed in part by the pullback in the dollar and Treasury yields.

Oil prices were weighed down by China's tariffs on imports of US oil, which offset a potential boost from reports Trump had restored his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran in a bid to drive Iranian oil exports to zero. 

Brent crude futures fell 1.2 per cent to $75.29 a barrel, while US crude fell 1.2 per cent to $71.84.  (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)