Australia

Australian shares are set to open lower, after a mixed session on Wall Street ahead of Nvidia earnings.

ASX futures were down 0.3% or 19 points as of 8:30am on Thursday, suggesting a lower open.

U.S. stocks ended narrowly mixed as a late surge lifted the Dow Industrials and S&P 500 into the green.

The DJIA rose 48 points, or 0.1%, to 38612, the S&P 500 gained 0.1% to 4981, while the Nasdaq dropped 0.3% to 15580.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil rose 0.9% to US$83.10 a barrel, while gold was flat at US$2,024.04.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was down at 3.81% while the 10 Year yield was also down at 4.17%. US Treasury notes were up, with the 2 Year yield at 4.67% and the 10 Year yield at 4.32%.

The Australian dollar hit 65.45 US cents down from its previous close of 65.47. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was down at 98.47.

Asia

Chinese shares closed higher, reversing their opening losses. The rally in A-shares were supported by the approval of CNY160 billion in loans for property projects by China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Maybank Head of Research Sonija Li said. Beverage and bank sectors led gains as Ping An Bank and Chongqing Brewery both added 10%. Bank of Ningbo rose 5.7%. Tsingtao Brewery gained 4.3%. Coal stocks led losses with Yankuang Energy Group down 2.2% and China Coal Energy dropping 0.9%. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 1.0% higher at 2950.96 and Shenzhen Composite Index gained 1.0%. ChiNext Price Index was up 0.4%.

Hong Kong shares ended higher, helped by news from China's housing regulator that more than CNY160 billion has been approved for loans for certain real estate projects. The liquidity support should help calm the wave of defaults among developers and warrant the delivery of unfinished homes, says Ken Cheung, chief Asian FX strategist at Mizuho Bank, in an email. Among developers, Longfor gained 9.5% and China Resources Land added 4.9%. Hang Seng Bank rose 9.1% after reporting a rise in quarterly profit, while HSBC led all index-constituent losers, shedding 3.8% after results came in below expectations. The Hang Seng Index closed 1.6% higher at 16503.10.

Japanese stocks ended lower, dragged by falls in tech and insurance stocks as profit-taking weighs following the benchmark's recent ascent to 34-year highs. Advantest shed 2.0% and SoftBank Group fell 2.0% amid caution ahead of Nvidia's earnings due later in the day. Dai-ichi Life Holdings dropped 2.7% and T&D Holdings lost 2.2% as the 10-year Japanese government bond yield declined half a basis point to 0.725%, with the 20-year yield down 2 basis points at 1.465%. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.3% to 38262.16. Investors are focused on economic data and their policy implications.

Indian shares ended lower, snapping a six-session winning streak and tracking Wall Street's losses overnight. All eyes are on Nvidia's results due after the U.S. market closes Wednesday. Despite the fall this session, India's earnings momentum remains strong and the country is on a structural growth cycle, said Kelly Chung, multi-asset chief investment officer at Value Partners. Technology and bank shares led losses. HCL Technologies fell 1.7% and Wipro was 2.0% lower. Kotak Mahindra Bank shed 1.0% and HDFC Bank dropped 1.1%. Steel stocks gained broadly, with Tata Steel up 2.0% and JSW Steel rising 0.95%. India's benchmark Sensex ended 0.6% lower at 72623.09.

Europe

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index pulls away from a two-year high reached on Tuesday and fell 0.3% to 490.60, dragged by losses for banks after poorly-received results from U.K.-based bank HSBC and miners. HSBC slid 9% after full-year results missed expectations, with a large fourth-quarter impairment charge related to its investment in China sparking concern. Other banks also fell, while miners lost ground as earnings updates from Glencore and Rio Tinto disappointed. Losses for U.K. heavyweights left the FTSE 100 underperforming, down 0.8%, but France's CAC 40 edged up 0.1 and Germany's DAX rose 0.2%, helped by gains in auto stocks.

The FTSE 100 closed down 0.8% on Wednesday, dragged down almost single-handedly by HSBC. The 8.2% slump in the bank's shares was one of its worst one-day falls since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and close to its fall at the height of the global financial crisis , AJ Bell investment analyst Dan Coatsworth says in a research note. HSBC's profits had fallen after taking a big charge on a Chinese bank investment and a further write-down on commercial real estate. "While the accounts certainly had more adjustments than a tailor on Savile Row, adding to the negative sentiment was guidance for net interest income in 2024 to be less than analyst forecasts, amid signs that central banks will cut rates this year," Coatsworth says.

North America

U.S. stocks ended narrowly mixed as a late surge lifted the Dow Industrials and S&P 500 into the green.

The DJIA rose 48 points, or 0.1%, to 38612, the S&P 500 gained 0.1% to 4981, while the Nasdaq dropped 0.3% to 15580.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve's recent policy meeting showed policy makers are worried about cutting interest rates too soon, weighing on sentiment.

Nvidia shares fell 2.9% ahead of its earnings report. Shares of the chip giant have soared over the last year as it's a big beneficiary of the boom in artificial-intelligence developments.

Treasury yields rise, along with oil prices, while the dollar is slightly weaker.