Asian Stock Markets Mixed After US Tech Earnings

Following earnings signals from US technology companies Alphabet and Microsoft and the interest rate decisions of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), risk appetite in Asian stock markets declined and indexes followed a mixed course.

The earnings reports announced by US tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft raised questions about the conversion of artificial intelligence investments into profitability. While Alphabet's third-quarter revenue increased by 25 percent to $127.6 billion, its net income decreased by approximately 25 percent to $26.2 billion. Microsoft's revenue for the July-September period rose by 19 percent to $92.3 billion, and its net income increased by 32 percent to $36.6 billion. Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) kept its policy rate steady at the 3.75-4 percent range, while Fed Chair Kevin Warsh stated that they were not making concessions on the 2 percent inflation target and noted that they would follow a data-dependent approach.

In Japan, the consumer confidence index fell to 35 in October, remaining below expectations, while indexes across the region displayed varying performances. In South Korea, the Kospi index closed down 1.2 percent at 5,937 points, whereas Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1 percent to 64,594 points. China's Shanghai Composite index traded 0.9 percent lower at 3,647 points, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.4 percent to 23,006 points, and India's Sensex index traded 0.8 percent higher at 73,827 points.