U. S. stocks are headed lower in early trading as traders weigh the growing tensions between the U. S. and North Korea.
U. S. stocks are headed lower in early trading Wednesday as traders weighed the growing tensions between the U. S. and North Korea. A batch of disappointing company earnings also helped pull the market lower, with consumer-focused companies and technology stocks among the biggest decliners.
Wall Street’s downbeat start followed a slide in major stock indexes in Europe and Asia. Gold and bond prices were headed higher.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 7 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,467 as of 10: 19 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 64 points, or 0.3 percent, to 22,020. The Nasdaq composite lost 40 points, or 0.6 percent, to 6,329. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 9 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,400.
KOREA JITTERS: With President Donald Trump warning North Korea of “fire and fury, ” investors have become concerned that the war of words between Washington and Pyongyang could spiral out of control. Pyongyang said it was examining plans for attacking Guam, a U. S. territory in the Pacific with a military base. The comments follow reports that the North has mastered a technology needed to strike the United States with a nuclear missile.
MOUSE HOUSE: Disney dropped 5.1 percent a day after the media giant reported a weak quarter and said it would pull its movies from Netflix and start two of its own video streaming services. The stock lost $5.41 to $101.57. Netflix also fell, giving up $3.37, or 1.9 percent, to $174.99.
BAD TRIPS: Priceline Group slid 8.1 percent after the online travel booking service issued a profit forecast that was weaker than analysts were expecting. The stock fell $166 to $1,882.94. Rival TripAdvisor also slumped after its latest quarterly report showed that online and transaction revenue growth fell sharply. TripAdvisor shares shed $3.34, or 8.5 percent, to $36.21.
TIME OUT: Fossil tumbled 25.6 percent after the watch maker said sales continued to weaken, falling short of analysts’ estimates. The company booked a hefty charge and said its CFO is leaving the company. The stock lost $3.03 to $8.81.
MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, Germany’s DAX was down 1.1 percent, while France’s CAC 40 fell 1.4 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 0.6 percent lower. Major indexes in Asia closed lower. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 1.3 percent, while Seoul’s Kospi fell 1.1 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was off 0.3 percent.
BONDS: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.22 percent from 2.26 percent late Tuesday.
METALS: Gold, a traditional safe haven play, was moving higher. It was up $15.70, or 1.2 percent, to $1,278.30 an ounce. Silver also rose, gaining 38 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $16.77 an ounce.
OIL: Benchmark U. S. crude added 27 cents to $49.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 29 cents to $52.43 in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 109.96 yen from 110.48 yen late Tuesday. The euro slid to $1.1714 from $1.1752.
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