Dip-Buying Fades as Qualcomm Highlights Tech Worry: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Buy-the-dip optimism faded from US stocks, with stellar earnings doing little to lift sentiment as lofty tech valuations kept investors cautious.

Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were little changed. The subdued sentiment followed after Qualcomm Inc., the biggest maker of smartphone chips, became the latest semiconductor firm to deliver an upbeat forecast that still failed to impress investors, sending its shares 2.9% lower in premarket trading.

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Meanwhile, Treasuries rebounded after data showed US companies announced the most job cuts for any October in more than two decades, prompting traders to boost bets on an interest-rate cut next month. The dollar headed for its biggest drop in three weeks.

Trading this week has been marked by a pullback in the biggest beneficiaries of the artificial-intelligence race, which have powered much of this year’s rally, before dip-buyers stepped in to offer support. Corporate America has continued to deliver robust results, with 81% of the S&P 500 companies reporting this quarter beating earnings expectations.

“The weather remains cloudy, bulls are hesitant, but the dip-buyers are never far away,” wrote Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote. “I’m not even sure we can get a meaningful dip when retail investors are so eager to jump back in.”

Elsewhere, European stocks slipped 0.1%. An equity gauge for Asia rose 1.2%, tracking Wednesday’s rebound on Wall Street. Gold extended gains.

Corporate Highlights:

Arm Holdings Plc, which provides the most widely used technology in computing processors, gave a bullish revenue forecast, helped by increasing interest in designing chips to run AI data centers. A judge denied Pfizer Inc.’s request to temporarily block Novo Nordisk A/S’ $10 billion bid to acquire the obesity startup Metsera Inc. Commerzbank AG raised its outlook for full-year lending income, even after third-quarter results fell short of analysts’ estimates amid a higher tax rate. James Hardie Industries Plc shares tumbled after rivals sounded fresh warnings on the US home-improvement market, worsening what’s been a disastrous year for the company’s management and investors. The US will cut flight capacity by 10% at 40 high-volume markets across the country to alleviate pressure on air traffic controllers and the aviation system during what is now the longest government shutdown in history. International routes will be spared. ArcelorMittal SA said earnings will benefit from stronger European Union protectionist measures, as well as recent acquisitions and investments. Worldline SA said its board has approved a capital increase worth €500 million ($576 million), confirming a Bloomberg News report. Nissan Motor Co. has agreed to sell its global headquarters in Yokohama for ¥97 billion ($630 million) to a group sponsored by Hong Kong-listed autoparts maker Minth Group. Snap Inc. shares surged more than 25% in extended trading after the company announced a $400 million partnership with Perplexity AI Inc. to incorporate its AI-powered search engine into Snapchat. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.1% as of 9:20 a.m. London time S&P 500 futures were little changed Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.2% The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.8% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1% The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1514 The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 153.74 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1256 per dollar The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3078 Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin fell 0.6% to $103,029.2 Ether fell 1.5% to $3,389.31 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.14% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.67% Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.47% Commodities

Brent crude rose 1% to $64.13 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.8% to $4,011.79 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

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