US stocks fall as tech worries drag markets down

Sales at Amazon.com and parent Google, Alphabet, disappointed investors, dropping the shares of the two tech giants. The results dragged on other big names in technology, including the shares of Facebook, Netflix and Apple. Amazon shares fell by 8%, while the Alphabet dropped 2.7%. Facebook, Netflix and Apple have each lost more than 1.5%.

US equities are experiencing one of their biggest sales for years, sparked by concerns over the impact of US corporate profits on their profits, as well as by the risk of slowing economic growth in China and Europe. Internet companies and fast-growing technology have been among the hardest hit stocks during the market turmoil of recent weeks. The Nasdaq Composite, a high-tech site, is expected to have its worst month since 2008.

The Nasdaq fell 2.6% on Friday, against a monthly decline of more than 11%. The S & P 500 fell 1.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 1.1%, more than 200 points, returning the two indices in the red for 2018.

"Last night's profits were disappointing," said Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING Germany. "Amazon does not particularly bode well for the entire economy, which casts doubt on the strength of US consumption."

In addition to Amazon and Alphabet, the poor results and forecasts of many corporate executives earlier this week have fluctuated. Caterpillar and 3M profits down on stocks destroyed Tuesday, chip maker's sales targets are poor

Texas Instruments

hurt not only this company but the group of semiconductors.

The weakness of the United States has spread to markets around the world. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 1.1%, with all regional indices down. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 0.4%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended the week down 1.1%.

Major Asian markets have been disappointed by some reports of US technology profits released after the close of business, including Amazon and Google's parent, Alphabet, said Mohammed Kazmi, a portfolio manager at Union Bancaire Privée, based in Geneva. .

"Both [Google and Amazon] missed out on income. Much of the good news is announced, "Kazmi said. "Given the current nervousness of the market, it is looking for reasons to weaken it."

The series of positive results that have helped indexes to increase until recently seems to be over, Kazmi said. Investors are now wondering if the global economy has reached a peak in terms of growth, he said, and whether the divergence between US and European equities will continue.

"Macro data from the United States [including consumer confidence] could bring relief, "said Brzeski. "Solid data could dampen the correction. Weak data would obviously improve the correction. "

In Europe, the Italian budget remained a source of concern for investors, and the S & P rating agency was to release its update on the country's credit outlook on Friday.

The European Union rejected Italy's budget proposal, drafted by its populist-led government – this is the first time the EU has taken such a step. Italy has until the end of the year to adopt a finance law.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury bills declined slightly from 3.119% to 3.087%. Yields evolve in the opposite of prices.

– Ben Eisen, Riva Gold and Saumya Vaishampayan contributed to this article.

Write to Corrie Driebusch at [email protected]