S&P 500 futures pop in overnight trading, boosted by Alphabet and Microsoft: Live updates
An Hour Ago
Yen hits new low after Bank of Japan keeps policy rate unchanged
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo.
Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Bank of Japan held its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 0%-0.1%, as expected.
The BOJ also said it will continue to conduct bond purchases in line with the March decision, but no comment was made on the yen.
The Japanese yen weakened beyond 156 against the U.S. dollar following the decision, touching fresh 34-year lows. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index extended gains to rise 0.7%.
Investors now await a press conference by BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda later in the day.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
3 Hours Ago
Hon Hai shares jump 4% to highest level in over two weeks
Shares of Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry jumped as much as 4.3% in early trading, hitting an over two-week high.
U.S. software company Cerence said it will supply Hon Hai EV subsidiary Foxtron with a voice-powered AI assistant. Cerence said the system features bilingual recognition of Taiwanese Mandarin and English.
“We’re proud to partner with Foxtron to bring the power of voice interaction to drivers in Taiwan for the first time,” said Christian Mentz, chief revenue officer at Cerence.
Shares of Hon Hai have surged nearly 50% so far this year.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
5 Hours Ago
Tokyo inflation slows sharply in April, core inflation sharply lower than expected
Inflation in Japan’s capital city of Tokyo slowed to 1.8% in April, down from the 2.6% gain in March.
Core inflation in the city — which strips out prices of fresh food — came in at 1.6%, down from 2.4% in March and missing expectations of 2.2% from economists polled by Reuters.
Tokyo’s inflation figures are widely considered to be a leading indicator of nationwide trends.
— Lim Hui Jie
7 Hours Ago
Fed’s preferred inflation gauge for March will be out Friday
The personal consumption expenditures price index will be due on Friday morning, giving the Federal Reserve a detailed glimpse into the latest inflation metrics.
For March, economists polled by Dow Jones anticipate headline PCE grew 0.3% from the prior month and by 2.6% from 12 months earlier. They expect that core prices, which exclude food and energy costs, grew by 0.3% on a monthly basis and by 2.7% year over year.
The first-quarter gross domestic product report issued Thursday revealed that PCE for the period rose by 3.4%, well above the 1.8% increase in the fourth quarter. The result incited a sell-off for stocks as investors fretted over signs of stagflation – a scenario in which the economy’s growth slows but inflation rises.
–Darla Mercado
7 Hours Ago
After hours movers
Check out the companies making moves after the bell:
Snap – Shares soared more than 27% in afterhours trading after the social media firm reported first-quarter results that beat analysts’ estimates.
Intel – The tech stock slid 8% in extended trading after the company missed expectations for first-quarter sales and gave a weak forecast for the current quarter.
Dexcom – The manufacturer of glucose monitoring systems fell 8%, even as the company posted beats on the top and bottom lines.
Gilead Sciences – The biotech stock jumped almost 3% after a better-than-feared quarterly report. Gilead posted a loss of $1.32 per share, narrower than a loss of $1.49 per share expected by analysts polled by LSEG.
— Yun Li
