US stocks slip amid Turkey woes; banks, tech decline

Published: August 11, 2018 11:22:01 | Updated: August 14, 2018 10:12:32

File Photo (AP)

Wall Street slipped on Friday as a deepening economic crisis in Turkey dragged on bank stocks and triggered fears that it could spread to other global economies.

A drop in technology shares added to the bearish tone. The S&P technology index fell 1.0 per cent, with Intel down 2.8 per cent after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to “sell”.

Microchip Technology shares fell 11.6 per cent after disappointing second-quarter revenue forecast.

A slump in the Turkish lira worsened after US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from the country, reports Reuters.

Investors fled to safe-haven assets, pushing the dollar higher and weighing on US bond yields.

The S&P financial index fell 1.4 per cent, among the biggest drags on the S&P 500. Citigroup, the most global of the major US banks, fell 2.7 per cent.

JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Bank of America were also lower.

At 2:47 pm (1847 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 270.25 points, or 1.06 per cent, to 25,238.98, the S&P 500 had lost 25.21 points, or 0.88 per cent, to 2,828.37 and the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 65.17 points, or 0.83 per cent, to 7,826.61.

Shares of trade-sensitive companies also declined, including Boeing, 3M and Caterpillar, which were all down at least 1.4 per cent.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.12-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.47-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and 10 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 82 new highs and 88 new lows.