1) Nasdaq enters bear market, S&P 500 earnings growth slow to 2020 low
Nasdaq Composite closed 3.95% lower on Tuesday, the worst drop since September 2020, as investors digested the latest round of corporate earnings. The index is now down 20% this year, marking the beginning of a bear market.
Meanwhile, S&P 500 plunged 2.81% after reporting YoY earnings growth of 6.6% for 1Q22, which would be the lowest growth since 4Q20.
2) S.Korea expects inflation in 2022 to run at 9-year high
South Korea expects inflation to average around 3.1% over the next 12 months, which would be the highest in nine year. The higher level of inflation is as a result of rising global energy prices, according to a Bank of Korea survey of consumers released on Wednesday.
Earlier, South Korea reported that its adjusted gross domestic product grew 0.7% in the first quarter of 2022, slowing down from 1.2% in the previous quarter.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also raised its forecast for South Korea’s 2022 annual inflation from 3.1% to 4.0%.
3) Alphabet reports weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue in 2022
Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) reported weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue in 1Q22. Earnings per share was $24.62 per share vs. $25.91 expected, while revenue was $68.01 billion vs. $68.11 billion expected, according to Refinitiv.
YouTube advertising revenue was $6.87 billion vs. $7.51 billion, while Google Cloud revenue was $5.82 billion vs. $5.76 billion expected.
The share dropped 3.59% after trading hours.
4) World Bank provides Sri Lanka with $600 million in financial assistance
Sri Lanka said that the World Bank has agreed to provide $600 million of financial assistance to help it meet payment requirements for essential imports, according to the Sri Lankan president’s media division.
Sri Lanka is facing one of its worst financial crises as the country had just defaulted on its foreign debts for the first time since its independence from the British in 1948.
