· S&P 500 falls for the first time in six days, Nasdaq retreats from record high
Stocks fell on Tuesday as a rally in mega-cap tech shares lost steam and concerns about the coronavirus outbreak dampened investor sentiment.
The S&P 500 slid 1.1% to 3,145.32 while the Nasdaq Composite, which hit a record high earlier in the day, closed 0.9% lower at 10,343.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 396.85 points, or 1.5%, to25,890.18.
Both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 snapped five-day winning streaks. The Dow posted its first decline in three sessions.
“This market is way overbought,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities. “This market has been ignoring the potential problems that are going to arise from the coronavirus.”
· Stock futures flat following sell-off on Wall Street
U.S. stock futures were flat in overnight trading, following weakness in equities in the previous session.
Dow futures rose 40 points, indicating a gain of 0.16%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 also were set to open higher, with gains of 0.08% and 0.12%, respectively.
· European markets close lower as weak German data and U.S. virus surge shake sentiment
European markets closed lower Tuesday as concerns over the threat to economic recovery of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. and weak German data put the brakes on Monday’s rally.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed down by around 0.6% provisionally, with tech shares shedding 1.2% to lead losses as most sectors and major bourses slid into negative territory.
German industrial production data came in weaker than expected on Tuesday morning, rising by 7.8% in May, a more modest rebound than the 10% expected by analysts polled by Reuters following a -17.5% contraction in April.
The European Commission on Tuesday cut its economic forecasts, and now expects the 27-member region to contract by 8.3% this year, followed by a rebound of 5.8% in 2021. In May, the Commission estimated a 7.4% contraction for total GDP across the region this year, with a rebound of 6.1% in 2021.
· Asia Pacific stocks mixed as WHO warns coronavirus deaths could start to rise again
Stocks in Asia Pacific traded mixed on Wednesday morning as concerns around the coronavirus pandemic continue to linger.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.35% in early trade while the Topix index shed 0.24%. Over in South Korea, on the other hand, the Kospi added 0.28%.
Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia slipped 0.26%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.04% lower.
A World Health Organization official said Tuesday that it shouldn’t “be a surprise” if coronavirus deaths start to rise again. Reported Covid-19 cases globally accelerated in June while the death toll has been falling. WHO officials warn that that there’s a lag between rising cases and increasing deaths. It takes weeks after contracting the virus to fall seriously ill and potentially die from the coronavirus.
Cases have recently spiked stateside with Texas reporting more than 10,000 additional Covid-19 cases Tuesday — a record-breaking daily surge. In Asia Pacific, a recent uptick in cases in parts of Australia has prompted officials in Victoria state to impose stay-at-home restrictions in areas such as metropolitan Melbourne for six weeks.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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