- Asian stocks were neutral on Thursday as Fed's Powell downplayed the chance of interest-rate reduction and as new instability in the US banking industry fueled fears of a credit crunch.
- Chinese stocks swung back and forth after a three-day holiday, while Hong Kong stocks climbed. Shares in Australia and South Korea declined. The S&P 500 futures contract moved down after the benchmark fell on Wednesday following the Fed's 25 bps rate hike and rhetoric that downplayed chances for cuts later in the year.
- Nasdaq 100 futures rose in tandem with Hong Kong technology stocks, indicating support for the sector following largely strong first-quarter reports.
- Australian bonds climbed in response to increases in US Treasuries. The yen extended a rally against most of its Group-of-10 peers. Oil retraced some of the losses it suffered earlier this week as global growth fears weighed on the commodity.
