Stock exchanges were at a loss on Wednesday during the afternoon trading in New York. Investors responded to the rising tensions between the United States and China. The Americans are supposed to blacklist multiple Chinese security companies. Earlier the US promised to ban Huawei.
The Dow-Jones index was around 19.30 hours (Dutch time) 0.4 percent lower at 25,781 points. The broad S&P 500 also lost 0.4 percent to 2854 points and tech gauge Nasdaq lost 0.5 percent to 7745 points.
Qualcomm was a big loser, with a minus of almost 12 percent. According to an American judge, the chip maker has abused his market power when negotiating licenses in a case brought by regulator FTC. Qualcomm has now been placed under surveillance for seven years.
In addition, business figures caused a stir. Do-it-yourself chain Lowe’s (minus 11.8 percent) came up with a profit warning. The Nordstrom department store chain (minus 9.8 percent) also fell sharply after disappointing figures and also a profit alarm. Store company Target made a price jump of more than 9 percent thanks to better-than-expected results.
There was also takeover news. Nascar Holdings, the company behind the Nascar car races, has hired International Speedway circuit manager for 2 billion dollars. The latter therefore rose by more than 2 percent on the stock exchange.
In the financial markets, we also looked forward to the publication of the minutes of the most recent Federal Reserve policy meeting later in the day. In addition, oil prices fell markedly following new figures on oil stocks. Energy-related stocks were also under pressure as a result. Oil giants Chevron and ExxonMobil dropped to more than 1 percent.
A barrel of American oil was 3.2 percent cheaper at $ 61.09. Brent oil fell 2.2 percent in price to $ 70.60 a barrel. The euro was worth $ 1,1156, compared to $ 1,1159 at the close of the European stock markets earlier in the day.
About the author: Matthew Johnson
Matthew Johnson, a small tech business owner retired and found his passion in journalism.
