- Equities in Asia struggled to find direction after a Wall Street rally catapulted US tech companies into a bull market on expectations that interest rates will soon rise and bank turbulence will ease.
- Japanese stocks dipped, while those in Australia and South Korea climbed. Chinese benchmarks were volatile. A broad index of regional stocks declined around 0.2%.
- Alibaba shares climbed after chief executive Daniel Zhang stated on a conference call Thursday morning that the company would gradually relinquish control of several of its core operations, revealing details on an overhaul promised earlier in the week.
- Futures for US stocks fell slightly in early Asian trading. The S&P 500 gained 1.4%, while the Nasdaq 100 gained 1.9%, completing its 20% recovery from a December low.
- The tech-heavy index, which includes Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon, closed at its highest level since August, indicating that investors are bracing for the Federal Reserve to end its rate hike cycle and perhaps shift to looser policy later this year.
- Treasuries were flat across the curve, repeating Wednesday's lacklustre activity in which the 10-yr benchmark moved by the smallest margin in more than a month. Government bond yields in Australia and New Zealand were somewhat higher.
