Stock market today: Asian shares sink, weighed down by Wall St tech retreat, China policy questions
Jul 18, 2024, 11:55 PM | Updated: Jul 19, 2024, 6:02 am
Asian shares retreated Friday after a broad washout across Wall Street dragged U.S. stocks lower, and Hong Kong’s benchmark dipped more than 2% as investors remained wary over China’s plans for helping its ailing property sector.
U.S. futures rose while oil prices declined.
Chinese officials briefed reporters in Beijing on the outcome of a top-level meeting of the ruling Communist Party, providing some details of the sweeping blueprint it endorsed for making China a leader in technology, building its financial markets and raising living standards.
Their explanations remained relatively vague, though more details are expected in the weeks to come. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 1.8% to 17,458.64, while the Shanghai Composite index reversed early losses to gain 0.2%, closing at 2,9782.53.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.2% to 40,063.79, while South Korea’s Kospi shed 1% to 2,795.46. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.8% to 7,971.60.
In Taiwan, the Taiex fell 2.3%, as computer chip-maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s shares sank 3.5%, extending losses triggered by a report that Washington might double-down on restrictions on sales to China of semiconductors and equipment used to make and test them.
TSMC’s U.S.-traded shares rose 0.4% on Thursday after the industry giant reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It bounced back from its loss of 8% the prior day, but only after swerving between gains and losses.
The rout in the tech sector this week has dragged markets in the U.S. and Asia lower after a bout of strong gains.
On Thursday, European indexes were mixed after the European Central Bank held its main interest rate steady.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 dropped 0.8% to 5,544.59. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.3% to 40,665.02, and the Nasdaq sank 0.7% to 17,871.22.
As they did the day before, when the Nasdaq tumbled to its worst loss since 2022, several Big Tech stocks led the market lower. Drops of 2% for Apple, 2.2% for Amazon and 0.7% for Microsoft were three of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500.
But chip makers’ shares stabilized. Nvidia rose 2.9% and stretched its gain for the year to nearly 145%.
Earlier this year, a climb for Nvidia and some of the other handful of stocks that came to be known as the “Magnificent Seven” may have been enough to prop up the rest of the market as their stock prices rocketed amid a frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology, even as other stocks struggled under the weight of higher interest rates and slowing economic growth.
The majority of stocks within the S&P 500 fell, with Domino’s Pizza logging the sharpest loss, dropping 13.6% despite topping analysts’ expectations for profit in the spring. The pizza chain temporarily suspended its forecast for how many stores it will open globally over the long term.
Darden Restaurants, the company behind Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and other chains, sank 3%. It said it would buy the Chuy’s Tex-Mex chain in an all-cash deal valuing it at $605 million. Chuy’s stock jumped 47.8%
Thursday brought mixed reports on the U.S. economy. One report said more workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected. That could signal a softening job market, though the number remains low compared with history. A separate report said manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region is growing much better than economists thought.
Recent encouraging reports on inflation have raised expectations the Federal Reserve may begin easing interest rates in September after keeping its benchmark rate at its highest level in more than two decades. Investors are hoping the economy can remain in a “Goldilocks” state, where it’s not so hot that it puts upward pressure on inflation but not so cold that it slides into a recession.
Expectations for stronger corporate profit growth have also helped drive market gains.
In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 52 cents to $80.78 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 36 cents to $84.75 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 157.48 Japanese yen from 157.37 yen. The euro fell to $1.0885 from $1.0897.
