Wall Street Today: Facebook hit with new antitrust suit from FTC

Asian stocks look set for a cautious open Friday as the delta virus strain and the prospect of reduced central bank stimulus weigh on the economic outlook, hurting commodities and bolstering the dollar.

Futures were modestly higher in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong. U.S. contracts fluctuated after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rose overnight in a choppy session, while Treasuries climbed and the dollar hit a nine-month high. Commodities have slumped, flashing a warning about the impact of Covid-19’s resurgence on the global recovery.

The global shortage of semiconductors will cut worldwide auto production by as many as 7.1 million vehicles this year, and pandemic-related supply disruptions will hobble the industry well into next year, IHS Markit said.

The economy is still doing very well, but the already bad crisis situation brought on by the Delta variant threatens to get even worse. It is an environment that has put both the Federal Reserve and investors in a fix.

Minutes from the Fed’s July meeting, released Wednesday, show that central bank policy makers want to start reducing monthly bond purchases by the end of the year, and there are some at the Fed who would like to start that in short order, say with an announcement at the September meeting. They view the Fed tapering its purchases down to zero—a process that could take the better part of a year—as a necessary condition for raising rates. The sooner it finishes tapering, the sooner they have the option of raising rates.

The move could result in enhancements to the Creative Cloud software where Adobe derives a major part of its revenue. The company has previously bolstered Creative Cloud with acquisitions such as the stock-content marketplace Fotolia and social-media site Behance.

Investors in the $51tn US stock market are coming around to the view that the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant will dampen the global economic recovery, threatening a record-breaking rally.

The benchmark S&P 500 index on Wednesday fell by the most in a month before eking out a minor gain on Thursday. The big stock indices in Europe and Asia closed lower on Thursday.

Revenue will be roughly $6.3 billion in the three-month period ending in October, the Santa Clara, California-based company said Thursday. Analysts have estimated $6.04 billion on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Profit will be $1.87 to $2.01 a share in the fiscal fourth quarter, excluding some items, compared with an average estimate of $1.81.