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US, European stocks fall on continued trade worries
NEW YORK, Sept 5, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – European and US stocks pulled back
Tuesday on continued worries about trade conflicts even as Amazon briefly
topped $1 trillion in market value in the latest demonstration of US tech
industry dominance.
Investors were eyeing the latest in the ongoing trade fight between the US
and Canada after President Donald Trump again threatened to leave Canada out
of a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement.
Talks with Ottawa are set to resume in Washington on Wednesday to try to
salvage the three-nation NAFTA, although Trump has said he could proceed with
Mexico alone.
A tweet from Trump dismissing the need for Canada to be included in the
deal “helped give the bears an advantage on Tuesday,” according to
Briefing.com.
Analysts also are monitoring the state of trade relations between
Washington and Beijing, with the possibility of a new wave of punitive
tariffs hitting as soon as this week.
Bourses in Paris and Frankfurt lost more than one percent, while London
dropped 0.6 percent.
The losses in the US were milder, with sentiment lifted by Amazon’s brief
surge above $1 trillion in market capitalization before pulling back
somewhat.
– Trouble in Argentina –
The troubles in Argentina, which has seen its peso collapse in recent
weeks, and Turkey are further rattling foreign exchange markets owing to
fears their crises could spread.
Argentine Economy Minister Nicolas Dujovne was in Washington for talks
Tuesday with International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, who has
signaled a willingness to accelerate disbursement of a $50 billion loan
agreed to in June.
“For now, most of emerging market woes can be attributed to country-
specific issues,” Rodrigo Catril, senior foreign exchange strategist at
National Australia Bank, said in a note to clients.
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“But… as the Fed is expected to continue with its gradual (rate)
tightening strategy and with President Trump seemingly keen on pursuing its
hard line on trade policy, EM contagion risk is still alive and kicking.”
On the corporate front, shares in advertising giant WPP slumped on mixed
earnings news one day after the company appointed a new chief executive.
Dow member Nike fell 3.2 percent amid worries the new advertising campaign
featuring Colin Kaepernick will backfire on the sports giant.
Kaepernick has been sidelined from playing American football after
kneeling during the US national anthem in 2016, launching a movement to
protest racial injustice. He appears as the new face of Nike’s “Just do it”
campaign.
– Key figures around 2100 GMT –
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 25,952.48 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 2,896.72 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,091.25 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,457.86 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX 30: DOWN 1.1 percent at 12,210.21 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 1.3 percent at 5,342.70 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,359.36 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 22,696.90 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.9 percent at 27,973.34 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 2,750.58 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1600 from $1.1619 late Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2900 from $1.2870
Dollar/yen: UP at 111.45 yen from 111.07 yen
Oil – Brent Crude: UP 2 cents at $78.17 per barrel
Oil – West Texas Intermediate: UP 7 cents at $69.87 per barrel
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