Higher consumer spending boosts Q4 GDP
US stocks extended losses on Wednesday as the technology stocks selloff continued. The S&P 500 lost 0.3% to 2605. The Dow Jones industrial slipped 0.1% to 23848.42. NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.3% to 7345.29.The dollar strengthening accelerated: the live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, rose 0.8% to 90.04. Stock indices futures point to higher openings today.
The technology sector decline was led by continued selloff in major companies Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) commonly known by the acronym FAANG. Economic data were mostly positive though: the annualized pace of growth in the economy in the fourth quarter of 2017 was revised to 2.9% from 2.5%. The upgrade was mainly due to the biggest increase in consumer spending in three years and higher investment in business inventories. The trade deficit in goods in February widened slightly to $75.4 billion. And pending home sales rose 3.1% in February.
Healthcare shares lead European stocks higher
European stocks advanced on Wednesday with gains in healthcare shares outweighing continued losses in technology. Both the euro and British Pound accelerated the slide against the dollar. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.5%. However Germany’s DAX 30 lost 0.3% settling at 11940.71. France’s CAC 40 added 0.3% and UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.6% to 7044.74. Indices opened 0.1% - 0.3% higher today.
The 15.6% gain in Shire plc (NASDAQ:SHPG) shares fueled the rally in healthcare sector after Japanese biopharma Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (T:4502) said it’s considering making an offer for its rival. Tech names finished at the bottom of the Stoxx 600 index. Chip makers fared the worst among the technology shares, down 1.8% as selloff unfolded on Wall Street. In economic news UK retail sales fell in March, hit by winter weather, and German consumer confidence rose more than expected in April according to GfK report.
Asian indices mostly higher
Asian stocks are mostly rising today after paring earlier losses. Nikkei ended 0.6% higher at 21159.08 despite yen pulling back against the dollar. China’s stocks are higher: the Shanghai Composite Index is 1.2% higher and Hong Kong’sHang Seng Index is up 0.3%. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index is down 0.5% as Australian dollar turned higher against the greenback.
Brent lower after US inventory build
Brent futures prices are retreating today on rising US crude output which climbed to a fresh record of 10.43 million barrels per day last week. Prices ended lower on a US supply build: the US Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that domestic crude supplies rose by 1.6 million barrels last week. May Brent crude fell 0.8% to $69.53 a barrel on Wednesday.