(Bloomberg) — Stocks in Asia were poised to ease Thursday as investors digested gains in technology shares while watching for fresh signs of progress toward a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
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Equity-index futures for Australia, Japan and South Korea all edged lower, while a gauge of Chinese companies listed in the US slipped 1%. Contracts for US stocks were little changed in early Asia trading after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes both retreated. A gauge of chipmakers fell 1.4%, though Nvidia Corp. climbed. SpaceX tumbled 14% despite strong earnings as about $101 billion of shares become eligible for trading.
US crude edged lower on Thursday after Iran said it had reached an agreement with Oman on a proposed shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, a potential step toward reopening the critical waterway. The dollar fell 0.2% on Wednesday.
The recent rally in risk assets is showing signs of losing momentum as investors lock in profits after a sharp rebound in AI-related stocks. At the same time, hopes that lower oil prices may ease inflation are keeping markets focused on any clues about the outlook for monetary policy.
“AI-related results and commentary have sparked some profit taking,” said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist and portfolio manager at SIA Wealth Management Inc.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon told CNBC that market leverage — including prime brokerage, hedge funds, exchange traded funds and Treasury market arbitrage — is running high.
Treasury yields were little changed after data showed the US services sector expanded at a steady pace in July, even as higher costs for labor and materials continued to weigh on businesses. Hiring slowed, with companies adding fewer workers than expected.
If Friday’s monthly payrolls report confirms signs of a cooling labor market, it may give Federal Reserve officials room to keep their focus on stubborn inflation rather than employment.
Even so, policymakers continued to signal they are prepared to tighten policy further if price pressures persist. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari told CNBC the central bank should begin raising interest rates incrementally now, while Governor Lisa Cook said she was prepared to act if inflation failed to keep slowing.
“If I do not see signs of continued disinflation soon, I am prepared to act,” Cook said Wednesday in a speech at an event in Alaska. “With five years of above-target inflation, the risk grows that higher inflation may become entrenched in price- and wage-setting behavior, leading to persistence that would be much harder for us to attack.”
Separately, the Treasury Department left its borrowing plans unchanged, signaling no increase in note and bond auction sizes through 2027 despite rising federal financing needs.
In commodities, gold posted its biggest gain since February as optimism over a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz lowered oil prices, easing inflation concerns and boosting demand after the metal broke above a key technical resistance level.
Corporate Highlights:
Alphabet Inc.’s Google is losing some of its most prominent artificial-intelligence veterans in a seismic overhaul that is casting doubt over leadership of a critical area of growth right as competition intensifies.
Citadel’s flagship fund surged 5.9% in July as the firm became one of the few winners from the turmoil at artificial-intelligence hedge fund Situational Awareness.
Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg announced the release of the company’s first AI coding agent, known as Muse Code, stepping up competition with OpenAI and Anthropic PBC.
Microsoft Corp. generates most of its artificial intelligence revenue from OpenAI, according to new disclosures from the company.
Eli Lilly & Co. boosted its 2026 sales guidance after its weight-loss drug franchise performed far better than expected in the second quarter, helping to counter investor concerns that the obesity drug boom is starting to slow.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% as of 7:03 a.m. Tokyo time
Hang Seng futures fell 0.9%
S&P/ASX 200 futures were little changed
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
The euro was little changed at $1.1554
The Japanese yen was little changed at 157.71 per dollar
The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7479 per dollar
The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.7056
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.2% to $64,628.02
Ether fell 0.5% to $1,906.76
Commodities
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
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