- Asian equities sank for the fifth day in a row as US stocks fell in a reversal of the previous session, as concerns over American regional banks trumped better-than-expected technology profits.
- Japanese, Australian, and South Korean stocks all fell, while mainland Chinese and Hong Kong stocks varied. The developments put a regional equity index on track for its longest streak of daily losses this year.
- Futures contracts for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both nudged up in Asia after Meta reported earnings that exceeded analyst expectations, propelling its shares 11% higher in after-hours trading.
- The surge in US futures followed gains in the Nasdaq 100 Index on Wednesday, which were aided by positive earnings reports from Alphabet and Microsoft the day before.
