Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Thursday, April 28:
1. BoJ surprises with no action; yen soars
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) shocked markets by making no changes to its monetary policy in a decision which sent the yen soaring close to 3% against both the dollar and the euro.
USD/JPY fell the most since last August on the news, while EUR/JPY noted its largest slump in the last five years.
2. Global stocks slump after Fed and BoJ
While Wednesday’s policy decision by the Federal Reserve (Fed) presented no surprise, the BoJ shocked global stocks with the lack of additional stimulus.
The Nikkei 225 was the worst hit with a fall of 3.6%, while Dow Jones Shanghai lost 0.29%, though S&P/ASX All Australian 200 escaped unscathed and rose 0.73%.
At 9:54AM GMT, or 5:54AM ET, European stocks markets moved lower with the European benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 trading down 1.62%, the DAX losing 1.35%, the CAC 40 falling 1.47% and London's FTSE 100 dropping 1.14%.
U.S. futures also tallied losses. Specifically, at 9:55AM GMT, or 5:55AM ET, the blue-chip Dow futures shed 0.82%, S&P 500 futures traded down 0.80% and the Nasdaq 100 futures gave up 0.55%.
3. U.S. growth expected to stall
Growth in the U.S. economy likely stalled in the first quarter on weak consumer spending and trade.
The U.S. will release its preliminary first quarter gross domestic product at 12:30GMT or 8.30AM ET with consensus forecasting growth to have slowed to 0.7%, from the fourth quarter expansion of 1.4%.
4. Oil takes a breather near 2016 highs
Crude registered choppy trade on Thursday after hitting highs for this year on the prior day.
Both West Texas and Brent had rallied more than 70% since hitting 2016 lows in February and January, respectively.
U.S. crude oil futures slipped 0.07% to $45.30 at 9:57AM GMT, or 5:57AM ET, while Brent oil traded up 0.04% to $46.45.
5. Facebook surges on earnings
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) soared more than 8% in the pre-market on Thursday as revenue jumped more than 50% thanks to a surge in mobile ad sales.
The social media company also announced the creation of a new class of non-voting shares designed to allow chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg to give away his wealth without losing control of the firm.
Tech earnings will remain in focus on Thursday with both Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).com and Baidu reporting after the market close.