Global
5 years ago

Wall Street down for third day as trade worries persist

File Photo (Collected)
File Photo (Collected)

Published :

Updated :

US stocks fell for the third straight day on Friday, as skepticism over the United States and China reaching a trade deal before a looming deadline added to concerns over slowing global growth.

Another round of talks is set for next week in Beijing, but US President Donald Trump on Thursday fanned worries when he said he did not plan to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping before the March 1 deadline set for reaching an agreement.

If the two countries fail to reach a deal by then, additional US tariffs on Chinese imports will come into force, reports Reuters.

The trade-sensitive industrials shed 0.63 per cent while shares of chip companies, which get a huge chunk of their revenue from China, also slipped. The Philadelphia chip index lost 1.25 per cent.

Global growth fears resurfaced on Thursday after the European Union cut its economic growth forecast and the Bank of England warned of Britain facing its weakest economic growth in a decade.

Still, the S&P 500 is about 14 per cent higher from 20-month lows it hit in December, spurred by a dovish Federal Reserve, hopes of a US-China trade deal and largely positive fourth-quarter earnings.

Interest rate-sensitive financials dropped 1.72 per cent, weighing the most on the S&P 500, as US 10-year Treasury yields fell.

Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, while the defensive utilities sector was the only sector to eke out a gain.

Global markets: sentiment buckles under growth worries; L'Oreal lifts luxury sector

At 12:32 pm ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 200.49 points, or 0.80 per cent, at 24,969.04, the S&P 500 was down 15.70 points, or 0.58 per cent, at 2,690.35 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 40.87 points, or 0.56 per cent, at 7,247.48.

Nasdaq and Dow were headed for their first weekly loss for the year.

With earnings season crossing its halfway mark, 71.5 per cent of the S&P 500 companies that have reported beat profit estimates, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

But concerns remain about slowing earnings growth. Analysts now expect current-quarter profit to dip 0.1 per cent from estimates of a 5.3 per cent growth at the start of the year.

Coty Inc surged 27.05 per cent - the most on the S&P 500 - after the cosmetics maker reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

Mattel Inc gained 24.19 per cent after the toymaker posted a surprise quarterly profit as it benefited from a makeover of its iconic Barbie doll.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.22-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.69-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 17 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 24 new highs and 30 new lows.

Share this news