Stock futures fall after Fitch downgrades U.S. rating, earnings season continues: Live

Manufacturing activity across the ASEAN region expanded at the softest pace in seven months, with the headline purchasing managers index at 50.8. in July.

This marked a third straight month of decline and pointed to a mixed picture across the ASEAN region, with only four of the seven constituents registering an improvement in operating conditions.

Indonesia displaced Thailand at the top of the PMI rankings with a PMI reading of 53.3 for July, while Thailand recorded a PMI reading of 50.7.

The Philippines and Myanmar rounded off the list of countries with improving manufacturing sectors, with PMI readings of 51.9 and 51.1 respectively.

In contrast, the countries that reported a deterioration in July were Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia.

— Lim Hui Jie

Asian currencies largely strengthened against the U.S. dollar after rating agency Fitch cut the U.S.’ credit rating from AAA to AA+.

IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said this will spark risk aversion flows, which means lower equities in Asia, as well as safe haven buying of treasuries and currencies such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc against riskier currencies, such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars.

The Japanese yen, long considered a safe haven currency, strengthened 0.16% to trade at 143.1 against the greenback.

In contrast, the Australian dollar weakened marginally to trade at 1.51 against the greenback and the New Zealand dollar slid 0.31% to trade at 1.63.

— Lim Hui Jie

South Korea’s consumer price index rose 2.3% year-on-year in July, the lowest rate of growth since June 2021 and lower than the 2.4% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

The inflation print also marks its sixth straight month of decline. On a month on month basis, the country’s consumer price index rose 0.1%.

On Monday, minutes from the Bank of Korea revealed that board members were in favor of the benchmark rate being held at 3.5%, but “while closely monitoring real economic indicators, such as the inflation rate and financial stability conditions,” said one member.

— Lim Hui Jie

Fitch Ratings cut the United States’ long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to AA+ from AAA on Tuesday, citing an erosion of governance and expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years.

In particular, the agency called out brinksmanship in Washington around debt ceiling negotiations earlier this year. President Joe Biden signed a debt limit deal on June 2, just days prior to the X-date of June 5 – the expected date when the nation could default.

“The repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management,” Fitch said.

Read more here.

-Darla Mercado

Check out the companies making headlines after hours.

• SolarEdge Technologies — The solar stock dropped 11% in extended trading. SolarEdge missed revenue expectations in its second quarter, posting $991 million compared to the expected $992 million from analysts polled by Refinitiv. The company beat earnings estimates, posting an adjusted $2.62 per share, better than the $2.52 per-share estimate.
• Advanced Micro Devices — The chip stock jumped nearly 4% after Advanced Micro Devices reported better-than-expected quarterly results. AMD reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of 58 cents per share on revenue of $5.36 billion. Analysts polled by Refinitiv expected per-share earnings of 57 cents on revenue of $5.31 billion.
• Freshworks — Freshworks advanced nearly 14% after reporting second-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations on the top and bottom lines. The software company reported adjusted earnings of 7 cents per share on revenue of $145 million. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected per-share earnings of 2 cents on revenue of $141 million.

Read the full list here.

— Sarah Min

U.S. stock futures were lower Tuesday night.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid by 179 points, or 0.5%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures dipped 0.62% and 0.79%, respectively.

— Sarah Min