South Korea's Kospi index was down 2.6% after a nearly 7% surge a day earlier. (EPA Images pic)HONG KONG: Asian shares gave up earlier gains on Thursday as AI-related earnings announcements prompted wildly mixed responses, raising the stakes for Amazon and Intel results due later in the day.
Hefty cash burn from Alphabet sent its shares 10% lower in after-hours trading, wiping nearly US$400 billion off its market value. That drove Nasdaq futures 1% lower. Microsoft, by contrast, beat forecasts with better-than-expected cash flows that lifted its shares by 3%.
Overnight, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady as widely expected, but two committee members voted for a hike. Chair Kevin Warsh struck a more confident note on the inflation outlook during his press conference, sparking a rally in Treasuries.
