published Mar 19, 2018, 4:55:52 PM, by Adam Haigh
(Bloomberg) —

Stocks in Asia were poised to follow U.S. equities lower after a sell-off in technology shares bruised trader sentiment before a key Federal Reserve policy meeting.

Futures signaled declines on equity indexes in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong. U.S. stocks slumped as tech companies were roiled by reports of a Facebook Inc. data breach and Apple Inc. efforts to develop its own screens. After the bell, Oracle Corp. reported sales that underwhelmed investors. The pound held gains triggered by a deal between the U.K. and the EU on the transition agreement for the period immediately after Brexit.

The tech sell-off, that began in Asia on Monday and deepened during the Europe and U.S. sessions, sent jitters through equity markets at the start of a busy week that culminates in the first U.S. interest rate decision under new Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Bond markets were largely spared from the turmoil, with 10-year Treasury yields edging up.

Read more on what to expect from the Fed this week

Powell has hinted to investors that he’s open to lifting the policy rate four times this year, rather than the three currently reflected in dot-plot forecasts. Some on Wall Street expect the median projection to rise to four at Wednesday’s meeting, while others say there will be no change following a round of mediocre data and policy makers’ stated intentions to move gradually.

Here are some key calendar events coming up this week:

The Fed decision and Powell’s news conference come on Wednesday. The Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates and its asset-purchase program unchanged on Thursday. Attention will be on language and the odds for a May hike. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House this week as part of a U.S. visit. Company earnings scheduled for this week include Tencent, FedEx, Porsche, Hermes, PetroChina and Nike.
And these are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 0.7 percent in Singapore trading. Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.5 percent. Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index retreated 0.7 percent. The S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4 percent each. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.8 percent.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2 percent. The euro was flat at $1.2335 after climbing 0.4 percent on Monday. The British pound was at $1.4024 after its biggest increase in almost eight weeks. The yen was little changed at 106 per dollar.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was up one basis point at 2.86 percent. Australia’s 10-year yield was down one basis point to 2.69 percent.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude slid 0.5 percent to $62.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold was flat at $1,316.80 an ounce