![Asia stocks mixed as profit-taking, tech woes offset catch-up play](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/66/ca/cb/Asia-stocks-mixed-as-profit-taking--363446.jpg)
-
'Windmill love' sees Dutch artist become mill operator
-
US defends law forcing sale of TikTok app
-
Messi out for defending champ Miami as Leagues Cup begins
-
Australia bans uranium mining at Indigenous site
-
Divers attempt to reach sunken Philippine oil tanker
-
Trump accuses Harris of anti-Semitism in overblown speech
-
Coughlin clings to lead at LPGA Canadian Women's Open
-
Trump offers tech sector policy flips ahead of election
-
Spacecraft to swing by Earth, Moon on path to Jupiter
-
What's the fallout of Mexican drug lords' capture?
-
Video game makers see actors as AI 'data,' says union on strike
-
Chinese qualifier Shang to face Thompson in ATP Atlanta semis
-
'Massive attack' on French rail threatens more chaos
-
'We did it!': France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony
-
Regional concern grows as Venezuela blocks vote observers
-
Historic river parade, Dion show-stopper ignite Paris Olympics
-
Rainy Paris Olympic parade dampens many spectators' spirits
-
The one of a kind Paris opening ceremony: five memorable moments
-
Justin Timberlake seeks to dismiss DUI case
-
Warner Brothers Discovery sues NBA over Amazon rights deal
-
Kobe Bryant locker, Maradona jersey up for auction in New York
-
Historic river parade launches Paris Olympics
-
New York family of Holocaust victim reclaims Nazi-looted art
-
NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
-
Thousands evacuate season's biggest wildfire in northern California
-
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
-
Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show
-
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
-
Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked Olympics opening ceremony
-
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
-
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
-
Mott's England future uncertain as ECB chief fails to offer support
-
Trump meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Florida
-
S.African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese counterpart in Laos
-
Norris heads Piastri in McLaren one-two at Belgian GP practice
-
G20 seeks common ground on taxing super-rich
-
European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimer's drug
-
Habib, Ebden eye Alcaraz and Djokovic shocks at Olympics tennis
-
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
-
Two Sinaloa Cartel leaders face US charges after stunning capture
-
Spain train driver jailed for 2.5 years over deadly 2013 crash
-
Paris poised for Olympic opening ceremony spectacular
-
Judoka fails doping test in first case at Paris Olympics
-
Holder and Da Silva keep England at bay after West Indies collapse
-
Alpine F1 boss Bruno Famin to leave in August
-
Ethiopia declares three days of mourning after landslide tragedy
-
Brazilian dunes dotted with dazzling pools make UNESCO heritage list
-
Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
-
French Rugby's Jaminet suspended 34 weeks after racist video: Federation
![Asia stocks mixed as profit-taking, tech woes offset catch-up play](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/66/ca/cb/Asia-stocks-mixed-as-profit-taking--363446.jpg)
Asia stocks mixed as profit-taking, tech woes offset catch-up play
Asian markets were mixed Thursday, with a split between those suffering from profit-taking following a recent rally and those that were playing catch-up after a midweek break across much of the region.
Wall Street provided another healthy lead after rising for a fourth day -- helping pare January's steep losses -- but the positivity was dealt a blow after the close as Facebook parent Meta's sobering earnings fuelled fresh worries about the tech sector.
The gloomy mix of a sharper-than-expected drop in profit, a decrease in users and threats to its ad business followed disappointing results from streaming titan Netflix, indicating the pandemic-era sugar rush enjoyed from people being holed up at home has come to an end.
The weak readings provided a reality check that while the world economy is on the mend and many firms such as Apple are enjoying healthy earnings -- despite higher inflation and looming interest rate hikes -- the coming year is unlikely to be straightforward.
In early Asian trade, Tokyo, Sydney, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta all fell, having enjoyed a very strong week so far. However, Singapore and Seoul were both up around two percent on their first day back after the Lunar New Year break.
Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei were still closed. US futures turned sharply lower with Meta plunging about 20 percent in after-hours trade.
Meanwhile, traders are also still obsessing over the Federal Reserve's timetable for hiking interest rates, with speculation rife over how much it will raise them in March and how many more times this year.
Several officials have come out in recent days to soothe concerns about a hard and fast approach, though January inflation data released next week will be closely watched for an idea about the central bank's plans.
Private jobs data Wednesday did little to provide any clarity, with more than 300,000 jobs lost in the sector -- against an expected rise of 180,000 -- but officials put that down to the impact of Omicron, which saw millions of people infected during the time of the survey.
Still, National Australia Bank's Rodrigo Catril said a big miss in Friday's closely watched official figures could affect the Fed's planning.
"Overall, there is a general sense that this is a temporary setback which arguably could extend into February, making interpretation of the state of the US labour market a difficult task over the near term," he said in a note.
"Forecasts for Friday's payrolls are now all over the place with many calling for a negative print in January.
"Depending on the magnitude of the disruption, this can potentially become a solid excuse for the Fed to wait on the sidelines after a first rate hike in March," he added.
"A theme to watch, but for now this is yet another reason to push back on the notion of more than four rate hikes this year."
Before the upcoming jobs reading, focus is on Thursday's meetings of the European Central Bank and Bank of England. While the latter is tipped to unveil another rate hike to help curtail surging prices, the ECB is tipped to remain unmoved.
However, while officials in Frankfurt continue to insist the upward price pressures are temporary, they will be coming under pressure to act after data Wednesday showed inflation at a record high.
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 27,227.94 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1299 from $1.1304 late Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3560 from $1.3573
Euro/pound: UP at 83.33 pence from 83.28 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 114.44 yen from 114.42 yen
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $87.67 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $89.05 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 35,629.33 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,583.00 (close)
E.Paulino--PC