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US-STOCKS-MARKETS
US stocks end lower on revived China trade angst
NEW YORK, Nov 3, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Wall Street stocks finished lower on
Friday, ending a three-day winning streak on renewed uncertainty over US-
China trade talks and disappointing Apple results.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite suffered the biggest drop, shedding one
percent to 7,356.99 following a big fall in Apple shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.4 percent to 25,270.83, while the
broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.6 percent to 2,723.96.
US stocks had opened higher, in part due to optimism over trade talks
after President Donald Trump said Thursday talks with China were “moving
along nicely” and Bloomberg News reported that Trump had directed staff to
begin drafting a potential trade agreement.
But White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow poured cold water on
expectations for a breakthrough, telling CNBC “there’s no massive movement to
deal with trade,” in an interview that helped push stocks lower.
Trump himself told journalists that he expected a “very good deal” with
China, helping to lift stocks marginally from session lows. Some analysts
have taken the remarks with a grain of salt ahead of next week’s US
congressional elections.
“The wind was taken out of the sails” by the “walking-back” from Trump
officials on trade, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR.
“The largest headwind in this market is China trade.”
US government data showed the world’s biggest economy added 250,000 jobs
in October, well above analyst expectations. Unemployment held steady at 3.7
percent and wages rose a solid 3.1 percent above the year-ago level.
Analysts said the report should keep the Federal Reserve on track to
continue hiking interest rates, including in December.
Apple slumped 6.6 percent as investors focused on lower-than-expected
volume of iPhone sales, and expressed disappointment at the fourth-quarter
sales outlook, which was lower than some analysts expected.
But the tech giant reported a 32 percent jump in quarterly earnings to
$14.1 billion.
Oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron rose 1.6 percent and 3.2 percent after
both reported big increases in third-quarter earnings, with Chevron’s profits
more than doubling to $4.0 billion.
Food giant Kraft Heinz plummeted 9.7 percent after reporting a 33.3
percent fall in third-quarter profits to $630 million due to higher costs but
Starbucks surged 9.7 percent after reporting a 3.0 percent rise in comparable
store sales, topping analyst expectations.
BSS/AFP/HR/0918