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Financial Markets 02/05 15:52
NEW YORK (AP) -- Sharp drops hit Wall Street on Thursday as technology
stocks fell and bitcoin plunged again to roughly half its record price set last
fall. Several discouraging reports on the U.S. job market also knocked down
yields in the bond market.
The S&P 500 fell 1.2% for its sixth loss in the seven days since it set an
all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 592 points, or 1.2%,
and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.6%.
Qualcomm fell 8.5% for one of the market's bigger losses even though the
chip company topped analysts' expectations for profit and revenue in the latest
quarter. Its forecast for profit in the current quarter fell short of analysts'
expectations as an industrywide shortage of memory pushes some handset makers
to cut back on orders.
In the bond market, Treasury yields sank after a report said the number of
U.S. workers applying for unemployment benefits jumped last week by more than
economists expected. That could be a signal that the pace of layoffs is
accelerating.
Some economists suggested last week's rise could be statistical noise, and
the total number remains relatively low compared with history. But a separate
report said that layoffs announced by U.S.-based employers surged last month.
The 108,435 was the highest number for a month since October, according to
global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
For a January, it's the worst since 2009 during the Great Recession.
A third report from the U.S. government said that employers were advertising
the lowest number of job openings in December in more than five years.
Weakness in the job market could push the Federal Reserve to cut interest
rates to support the economy, even if it also risks worsening inflation.
Treasury yields fell across the board in response.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 4.19% from 4.29% late Wednesday.
That's a notable move for the bond market.
The moves were even sharper in commodities markets.
Silver's price dropped 9.1% in its latest wild swing since its
record-breaking momentum suddenly halted last week.
Gold's price fell 1.2% to settle at $4,889.50 per ounce. It's been careening
back and forth since roughly doubling in price over 12 months. It neared $5,600
last week and then fell below $4,500 on Monday.
Both gold and silver had been screaming higher as investors piled into
places they thought would be safer amid worries about political turmoil, a U.S.
stock market that critics called expensive and huge debt loads for governments
worldwide. But nothing can keep rising at such extreme rates forever, and
critics had been calling for a pullback.
Bitcoin, which is pitched as "digital gold," also sank. Like gold, bitcoin
produces no profits or dividends, and its price depends on what investors will
pay for it. It briefly fell more than 12% below $64,000, down from its record
above $124,000 set in October.
The tumbling prices dragged down stocks of companies enmeshed in the crypto
industry. Coinbase Global, the crypto trading platform, fell 13.3%. Strategy,
which has made a business of buying and holding bitcoin, tumbled 17.1%.
Outside of crypto, Alphabet dragged on the market and slipped 0.5%, after
paring an earlier loss of 8%, even though the parent company of Google, YouTube
and other businesses reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than
analysts expected. Investors focused instead on how much Alphabet is spending
on artificial-intelligence technology and questioned whether it will all prove
worth it.
Alphabet said its spending on equipment and other investments could double
this year to roughly $180 billion. That blew past analysts' expectations of
less than $119 billion, according to FactSet.
Estee Lauder also topped Wall Street targets, and it raised some of its
financial forecasts for the full fiscal year. But analysts said investors may
have been expecting even more, as the company shepherds through its turnaround
efforts and the punishing effects of tariffs. The New York cosmetic company's
shares fell 19.2%.
On the winning side of Wall Street were companies that stand to benefit from
big spending by Alphabet and others continuing the AI frenzy. Chip company
Broadcom added 0.8%
McKesson jumped 16.5% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the
latest quarter than analysts expected. The health care company also raised its
forecasted range for profit this fiscal year.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 84.32 points to 6,798.40. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average dropped 592.58 to 48,908.72, and the Nasdaq composite sank
363.99 to 22,540.59.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe and Asia.
London's FTSE 100 dropped 0.9% after the Bank of England held interest rates
there steady. France's CAC 40 fell 0.3%, and Germany's DAX lost 0.5% after the
European Central Bank likewise stood pat on interest rates.
South Korea's Kospi tumbled 3.9% for one of the world's biggest moves and
dropped from its all-time high. Samsung Electronics fell 5.8%, just two days
after it had surged 11.4%.
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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
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