- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
Asian stocks mixed after lacklustre session on Wall Street
Asian shares were mixed in early trade on Thursday, following a session on Wall Street that saw major indices sink despite a surge in tech.
Blockbuster earnings results lifted the tech-heavy Nasdaq on Wednesday, but recession fears and concerns over the health of the banking sector dragged down the Dow and the S&P.
Shares in Microsoft jumped 7.2 percent on the back of better-than-expected earnings, while Meta surged nearly 12 percent in after-hours trades following the announcement of first-quarter profits of $5.7 billion.
The situation was reversed for Korean tech giant Samsung, which reported on Thursday its worst quarterly profits in 14 years, blaming slowing consumer spending on electronics and falling microchip prices.
The company's first-quarter net income fell 86.1 percent to $1.17 billion, and sales dropped 18 percent, though its stock was trading only slightly down.
In Hong Kong, excitement over the IPO of Chinese baijiu maker ZJLD -- the largest debut on the bourse so far this year -- fizzled as its share prices tumbled around 15 percent in morning trade.
Even so, its roughly $570 million in proceeds amounted to more than half of what the Hong Kong stock exchange generated from IPOs in the first quarter of 2023.
Tokyo, Sydney, Wellington and Singapore were all down on Thursday, while Shanghai, Taipei, Jakarta and Manila were up. Hong Kong and Seoul were more or less flat.
Investors kept an eye on the embattled First Republic Bank, which ended nearly 30 percent down after another bruising session.
"First Republic's drastic move to the downside dragged down the KBW Regional Banking Index, which fell to its lowest level since November 2020 and prompted lending fears more broadly," SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes said in a note.
Those worries, coupled with lacklustre consumer confidence data among other indicators, have deepened fears of a broader recession.
"Realization is dawning that more ominous clouds are gathering over the US economy, causing fresh nervousness for investors," noted Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Key figures on US unemployment, GDP and inflation due this week are expected to shed more light on the state of the economy.
Oil prices, meanwhile, fell on worries that an economic slowdown would pinch demand, even as weekly US data pointed to strong gasoline demand.
The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was trading at $74.50 a barrel on Thursday morning.
"The economy is weakening but it isn't falling off a cliff, so we shouldn't be seeing oil trade near the low $70s," said Oanda's Edward Moya.
"China's recovery is not materializing, and US demand is weaker, so $100 oil won't be happening."
- Key figures around 0300 GMT -
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 19,759.98
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3276.60
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 28,349.95
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 33,301.87 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,852.64 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1053 from $1.1044 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2473 from $1.2409
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 133.57 yen from 133.67 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 88.60 pence from 88.55 pence
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.31 percent at $77.94 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.17 percent at $74.42 per barrel
A.Zimmermann--CPN