Stock Market Today: August 12, 2019


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US stocks fell on Monday, as rising protests in Hong Kong weighed on the already dampened sentiment of investors.

Here are the main movements of the market, starting at 11:58 ET.

  • S & P 500 (^ GSPC): -0.69% or 20.14 points

  • Dow (^ DJI): -0.86% or 225.48 points

  • Nasdaq (^ IXIC): -0.54% or 42.9 points

  • 10 Year Treasury Return (^ TNX): -6.8 basis points to 1.666%

  • Gold futures (GC = F): + 0.54% to $ 1,516.60 the ounce

  • US dollar rate in Chinese yuan to the coast (CNY = X): -0.0496% to 7.0577

Hong Kong International Airport, one of the busiest transportation hubs in the world, canceled all departures Monday after thousands of anti-government protesters flooded its terminal. Monday's cancellations affected all departures after 5:50 ET and some arrivals, for a total of more than 100 flights affected.

The move followed renewed clashes over the weekend between riot police and Democratic activists, who had been protesting for more than two months against the legislation now pending that would have allowed Hong Kong's extradition to the country. Mainland China.

The disruption weighed on global markets as investors pondered the possibility of new turmoil in Hong Kong, a hub of international trade. The Hang Seng index slid by more than 100 points, by 0.44%.

Meanwhile, the anxiety over unstable trade tensions between the United States and China remains high.

Investors continue to monitor the strength of the yuan against the dollar, China now being designated as a manipulator of the currency by the US Treasury. On Monday, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set its yuan fixing at $ 7.0211 per dollar, marking the third consecutive session with an official midpoint exceeding the psychological threshold of $ 7. However, this rate was higher than expected by consensus economists.

Tariffs also remain a priority and are a recurring concern for businesses in the second quarter results. According to a FactSet analysis, the number of S & P 500 companies mentioning rates during their second quarter earnings appeals during this period of the season is 41% higher than the number of people discussing Tariffs at this stage of the first quarter Specifically, 124 companies had discussed the rates on the calls for results as of Friday, against 88 at the same time in the first quarter of this year, found FactSet.

"It is interesting to note that the number of S & P 500 companies quoting" tariffs "has declined for three consecutive quarters until the second quarter of 2019," said in an analyst note from FactSet, John Butters. "But based on the figures for the second quarter of 2019, it seems that concerns about tariffs may rise for S & P 500 companies."

Number of S & P 500 companies citing a "tariff" on income calls

And since there was no visible end in the US-China trade war, economists have modified their expectations to see a further slowdown in domestic production due to speleology of trade.

Goldman Sachs economists announced Monday a cumulative GDP slowdown of 0.6%, due in part to an expected reduction in business capital spending due to business uncertainty about political prospects. Economists have indicated that they now expect GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 1.8% qoq, down 0.2 percentage points from their previous estimate.

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