Asian markets retreated on Thursday after a sharp sell-off in US tech shares, triggered by disappointing earnings from cloud computing giant Oracle, and heightened concerns over the profitability of AI-related investments. Oracle shares tumbled more than 11 per cent after hours, dragging S&P 500 futures down 0.9 per cent and Nasdaq 100 futures 1.3 per cent in Asian trade. The company's weaker profit and revenue outlook, alongside rising spending, weighed heavily on regional tech stocks. Japan's Nikkei fell 1 per cent, pressured by a 7.5 per cent drop in SoftBank Group, which partners with Oracle on the Stargate data centre project. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added only 0.06 per cent, leaving MSCI's Asia-Pacific index outside Japan lower by 0.5 per cent. The losses overshadowed the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to a 3.5 to 3.75 per cent range. Fed Chair Jerome Powell signalled a balanced outlook, helping Wall Street rally earlier and weakening the dollar as the euro climbed above $1.17. Bond yields eased after the Fed said it would begin buying short-term Treasuries to support liquidity. The 10-year yield slipped to 4.13 per cent, while the two-year edged down to 3.52 per cent. The yen strengthened ahead of next week's Bank of Japan meeting, where a rate hike is anticipated. The euro touched a two-month high of $1.1707 following comments from the European Central Bank about potential upgrades to growth projections. Attribution: Reuters
