World shares decline, weighed down by Wall St's tech retreat
Shares retreated in Europe and Asia on Friday after a broad washout across Wall Street dragged U.S. stocks lower.
Widespread IT outages disrupted travel and communications around the world, causing flight delays and cancellations.
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said Friday that the issue believed to be behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack. It said a fix was on the way. But hours after the problem was first detected, the disarray continued and escalated. CrowdStrike's Nasdaq-traded shares were down 12% in premarket trading early Friday.
Germany's DAX lost 0.7% to 18.228.68 and the CAC 40 in Paris declined 0.6% to 7,541.30. In London, the FTSE 100 shed 0.5% to 8,161.28. The future for the S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%.
In Asian trading, benchmarks in Hong Kong and Taiwan dipped more than 2% as investors remained wary over China's plans for reviving its slowing economy.
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. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 2% to 17,417.68, while the Shanghai Composite index reversed early losses to gain 0.2%, closing at 2,982.31.
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 Bangkok, the SET index lost 0.6%.
Taiwan's 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 long spell of strong gains.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 dropped 0.8% and the Dow dropped 1.3%. The Nasdaq sank 0.7%.
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.
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 34 cents to $80.96 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 19 cents to $84.92 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 157.48 Japanese yen from 157.37 yen. The euro fell to $1.0887 from $1.0897.
Source: Associated Press
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