Global stocks declined ahead of Alphabet's earnings report, as traders awaited the clearest indication yet of whether the cloud computing giant's massive investments in artificial intelligence are yielding a worthwhile return.

A two-day rally in the Nasdaq 100 stalled after futures for the index fell 0.8%, while S&P 500 futures declined 0.4%.

In Asia, South Korea's Kospi and other tech-heavy indices pared their early gains, with the MSCI Asia Pacific index closing down 0.1%. The

technology sector underperformed sharply compared to other sectors on the pan-European STOXX 600, which fell 0.2%. Meanwhile,

rising oil

prices continued to weigh on sentiment after the United States and Iran indicated they were in no hurry to resume talks following the escalation of their conflict in the Middle East.

Brent crude jumped above $95 a barrel, bringing its gains for July to nearly 30% after the renewed attacks and following US President Donald Trump's downplaying of the likelihood of immediate talks with Iran.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was steady at 4.64%, while the yield on the UK's 10-year gilt rose one basis point to 5.04%.