U.S. stock futures pointed to another downbeat session on Thursday, as shares of Salesforce slid on a quarterly revenue miss and soft guidance. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 339 points, or 0.9%. S&P 500 futures slid about 0.4%, while Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.3%. Salesforce plunged around 16% after missing revenue expectations for the fiscal first quarter. The company’s earnings and revenue outlook for the second quarter also fell short of the Street’s estimates. Retailer American Eagle Outfitters also declined 8% after first-quarter revenue missed analysts’ forecasts. During Wednesday’s session, the Nasdaq Composite fell about 0.6%, posting its worst session in May despite an 0.8% advance for Nvidia. The S&P 500 declined 0.7%, and the Dow slid nearly 1.1%. It was a notably difficult day for the equity markets. More than 400 stocks in the S&P 500 were negative on the day, and all 11 sectors tumbled. An uptick in the 10-year Treasury yield, which topped 4.6%, weighed upon investor sentiment, according to Ross Mayfield, Baird investment strategy analyst. Higher yields can be bad news for stock investors, as they reduce the multiples investors are willing to pay for equities and make safer investments, such as Treasury bills and money market funds, more attractive. “We have a ‘higher for longer’ backdrop, which is not new news, but in the [current] catalyst vacuum, is weighing upon the average stock — particularly at an extended valuation like we’re currently at,” Mayfield said. On Thursday, investors will be looking toward weekly jobless claims numbers. The second reading of the real gross domestic product for the first quarter is also due. The main event for economic data this week is the Friday release of the personal consumption expenditures price index report for April, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. U.S. Treasury yields were lower on Thursday as investors looked ahead to key economic data and assessed the state of the economy. At 6:17 a.m. ET, the 10-year Treasury yield was down by 3 basis points at 4.594%, falling back below the 4.6% mark it had crossed Wednesday for the first time in a month. The 2-year Treasury yield was last at 4.966% after falling by nearly 2 basis points. Asia-Pacific markets extended losses on Thursday, tracking Wall Street’s moves ahead of a slew of economic data from the region on Friday. South Korea’s Kospi shed 1.56% to end the day at 2,635.44, and the smaller cap Kosdaq slipped 0.77% to 831.99. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell about 1.3%, paring losses after plunging over 2% on its open, while the broader Topix dropped 0.56%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 extended declines from the previous session and fell 0.49% and finished at 7,628.2, with miners in Australia among the top losers. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plunged 1.26%, and mainland China’s CSI 300 index lost 0.53%, closing at 3,594.31 and hitting its lowest level in about a month. Oil prices were down on Thursday as the markets wait on the latest U.S. crude oil stockpiles data while resilient U.S. economic activity pointed to borrowing costs staying higher for longer in a potential blow to demand. Brent futures lost 9 cents, or 0.1%, to trade at $83.52 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WIT) crude was down 3 cents, or 0.04%, to $79.19 at 0046 GMT. U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories fell last week while distillates rose, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday. Gold prices were muted on Thursday, with market spotlight on key U.S. economic data that could shed some light on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate move. Spot gold eased 0.2% at $2,333.22 per ounce as of 0836 GMT. Prices have fallen over $100 since hitting a record high of $2,449.89 on May 20. U.S. gold futures fell 0.8% to $2,323.40.
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