Asian shares fall as Alphabet earnings miss drags Wall St futures lower

Asian equities turned lower on Thursday as investors weighed mixed technology earnings, Business Recorder reported. Alphabet’s shares lost 10% in after-hours trading after heavy spending on artificial intelligence, erasing nearly $400 billion in market value and pushing Nasdaq futures down 1%. Microsoft rose 3% after stronger-than-expected cash flow, while Samsung Electronics reported third-quarter operating profit almost nine times higher, yet its shares fell more than 4%.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan slipped 0.7%, and South Korea’s KOSPI declined 2.6%; Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.3%. The Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged, although two members backed a hike, and markets remained 80% priced for a December increase. Brent crude fell 0.4% to $114.91 a barrel as hopes for renewed US-Iran peace talks offset concerns about conflict in the Middle East.