Stock futures slid on Thursday morning as Wall Street digested weaker-than-expected earnings reports from megacap technology names and awaited further results. S&P 500 futures slipped 0.7%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.6%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 246 points, or 0.6%. In premarket action, Meta Platforms dropped 3% after missing the Street’s expectations for user growth and warning that capital expenditures will significantly rise in 2025. To be sure, Meta managed to beat on both top- and bottom-lines in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s revenue guidance disappointed investors, dragging shares nearly 4% lower. Tech earnings continues on Thursday with results from tech giants Apple and Amazon. The latest personal consumption expenditures price index on Thursday showed inflation rose in-line with estimates and moved closer to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The PCE reading is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge. Thursday’s PCE reading, along with Friday’s October payrolls report, will inform the Fed’s interest rate decision on Nov. 7 when it ends its two-day policy meeting. “Growth up, inflation down is precisely what you want to see,” said Jamie Cox, managing director at Harris Financial Group. “The Fed doesn’t need to be afraid of a stable and growing economy to normalize rates this cycle so long as disinflation persists.” During regular trading Wednesday, the major averages posted modest losses. The S&P 500 declined 0.3%, while the Dow dropped 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell nearly 0.6%. U.S. Treasury yields inched higher as traders parsed the latest economic data in the runup to Friday’s all-important jobs report. The 10-year Treasury yield was just over 2 basis point higher at 4.286%. The 2-year Treasury yield added more than 1 basis point to 4.172%. Asia-Pacific markets slipped Thursday as investors look to the Bank of Japan’s rate decision, as well as key business activity figures from China. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was 0.5% lower after the BOJ decision, closing at 39,081.25 and snapping a three-day winning streak. The broad based Topix slipped 0.3%, also ending three straight days of gains and finishing at 2,695.51. South Korea’s Kospi was 1.45% lower at 2,556.15, leading losses in Asia and hitting its lowest level since Sept. 11, but the small cap Kosdaq was up 0.66%, closing at 743.06. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.25%, closing at 8,160 and hitting its lowest level since Oct. 4. In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 0.13% as of its final hour, and mainland China’s CSI 300 was marginally above the flatline and closed at 3,891.03. Oil prices rose on Thursday, extending the previous day’s rally, driven by optimism over U.S. fuel demand following an unexpected drop in crude and gasoline inventories, while reports that OPEC+ may delay a planned output increase offered support. Brent crude futures gained 44 cents, or 0.61%, to $72.99 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 46 cents, or 0.67%, to $69.07 per barrel. Both contracts rose more than 2% on Wednesday, after falling more than 6% earlier in the week on the reduced risk of wider Middle East war. Gold prices eased on Thursday but were just shy of a record high, heading for their best month in seven as a hotly-contested U.S. presidential election race sparked safe-haven demand, while the focus is also on the release of a key U.S. inflation print. Spot gold was down 0.3% at $2,777.65 per ounce, after hitting a record high of $2,790.15 earlier in the session. Prices have firmed nearly 6% for the month so far. U.S. gold futures dipped 0.4% to $2,788.5.