Wall Street Slips Despite Strong Tech Earnings as Trade Tensions and Sector Weakness Weigh on Market
The Nasdaq edged down 7.23 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 21,122.45, the S&P 500 fell 23.51 points or 0.4 percent to 6,339.39 and the Dow slid 330.30 points or 0.7 percent to 44,140.98.
Wall Street opened strong following upbeat earnings from tech giants Meta Platforms and Microsoft. Meta surged 11.3% after surpassing Q2 expectations and offering positive Q3 guidance, while Microsoft rose 4% on better-than-expected fiscal Q4 results. However, early gains faded as profit-taking kicked in after the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit record highs.
Market sentiment was also influenced by ongoing trade tensions, with President Trump imposing a 15% tariff on South Korean goods. He also extended tariffs on Mexican imports and increased duties on cars, steel, aluminum, and copper. Treasury Secretary Bessent remained optimistic about a potential U.S.-China deal. Commerce Department released a report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of June.
Semiconductor stocks was under substantial selling pressure, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 3.1 percent after ending Wednesday's trading at its best closing level in a year. Qualcomm (QCOM) helped lead the sector lower, plummeting by 7.7 percent despite reporting better than expected fiscal third quarter earnings.
Pharmaceutical stocks were considerably weak, dragging the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index down by 2.9 percent to a two-month closing low. Healthcare, oil service and steel stocks too significant moved to the downside as the day progressed while notable strength remained visible among software and computer hardware stocks.
Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plunged by 1.6 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.2 percent, although Japan's Nikkei 225 Index bucked the downtrend and jumped by 1 percent. The major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index slid by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries showed a modest move back to the upside. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 1.6 basis points to 4.36 percent.
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