New York (AFP) – Global stocks mostly fell Tuesday as US tech shares faced another round of selling following recent outsized gains and markets weighed the latest uptick in US-Iran tensions. Oil prices retreated, with Brent crude briefly dipping below $90 per barrel for the first time since April 14, after US President Donald Trump hinted at a deal with Iran in the coming days, despite renewed strikes by Israel on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
But Trump also vowed Tuesday to respond after he accused Iran of shooting down a US military helicopter the previous night, saying on social media, “the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.” Tech shares, meanwhile, were back under pressure after weeks of bullish trading that had lifted shares of semiconductor companies and other artificial intelligence stocks, while pushing major indices to all-time highs.
“It’s normal to see the market after a big move up…to see investors question the thesis, take some profits, and then have the market pull back a little bit because everybody that wanted to buy in this latest rush, over the last 10 weeks, pretty much already bought it,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments. Sarhan said investors also see selling as a way to raise funds for the SpaceX initial public offering and other major stock market debuts expected in the coming weeks.
The pullback also came after Apple garnered lackluster reviews for an AI update to its Siri voice assistant. Shares of the tech giant fell 3.6 percent. Briefing.com described the tech sell-off as part of a rotation into other industries. Out of 11 sectors in the S&P 500, only technology and energy retreated on Tuesday, while the other nine advanced.
Earlier in Asia, bargain buying saw Seoul’s Kospi index surge on Tuesday after plunging more than eight percent on Monday, tracking the pre-weekend tech sell-off on Wall Street. But European indexes retreated before the close, with London leading the downturn owing to a decline in the share price of British drugs giant GSK, which announced an all-cash $10.6 billion takeover of US cancer specialist Nuvalent. Frankfurt and Paris stock markets had gained earlier after official data showed that industrial production in Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, rose slightly in April alongside its exports.
Investors are focusing next on Wednesday’s release of US inflation figures, which could play a key role in the Federal Reserve’s rate decision-making. The consumer price index is expected to hit 4.2 percent, which would be the highest level in more than three years. Such a reading would almost ensure a rate hike by the Fed in the coming months. The European Central Bank is also widely expected to raise rates by 25 basis points at its meeting on Thursday to counter the surge in eurozone inflation since the Middle East war sent oil and gas prices soaring.
Key figures at around 2020 GMT –
New York – DOW: UP 0.2 percent at 50,872.11 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,386.65 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 1.0 percent at 25,678.82 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.4 percent at 10,227.33 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 8,203.43 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 24,433.06 (close)
Seoul – Kospi: UP 8.2 percent at 8,096.93 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.2 percent at 65,416.63 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 24,565.90 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 4,010.03 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1542 from $1.1534 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3382 from $1.3340
Dollar/yen: UP at 160.39 yen from 160.16 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.25 pence from 86.46 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 3.0 percent at $91.45 a barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.4 percent at $88.20 a barrel
burs-jmb/jgc
© 2024 AFP
