Wall Street drops on China's worries

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By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) – US stocks fell on Friday as weak Chinese data and lower oil prices have raised concerns about global growth.

While investors avoided growth stocks, the S & P Technology Index <.splrct> fell 1.6%, driven primarily by the losses of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and chip maker Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS), which fell 8.8% after a poor forecast .

The S & P Energy Index <.spsy> paid 1.8% as the US gross price has entered the "bear market", falling more than 20% since early October and less than 60 dollars a barrel.

Major oil companies Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron Corp (NYSE: CVX) lost more than 1%. : FXC).

"Many investors view oil prices as the overall indicator of the global economy, so its low level is not a good sign," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James. in St. Petersburg, Florida.

In the midst of a bitter trade dispute between Washington and Beijing, Chinese data showed that producers' output inflation fell for the fourth consecutive month in October due to slowing domestic demand and manufacturing activity.

The Chinese report plunged global stocks into a stalemate, with trade-sensitive stocks such as Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) falling 1% and 3.3%, respectively.

"The concerns over the trade war and the impact of the slowdown in China on the rest of the world mean that equities look riskier, which is why markets are generally less risky," said the strategist. DZ Bank rate, Pascal Segesser.

Although Fed policymakers have, as expected, left interest rates unchanged on Thursday following a two-day meeting, their policy statement announced a further rate hike, with the fourth increase scheduled for December .

Data released on Friday show that US producer prices rose more than expected in October and at their fastest pace in six years, fueled by rising energy and energy costs. commercial services.

Prices paid by producers rose 0.6%, while analysts polled by Reuters expected a rise of 0.2% in producer prices compared to September.

At 9:57 am EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average <.dji> was down 151.20 points, or 0.58 percent, to 26,040.02, the S & P 500 index <.spx> was down 20.80 points, or 0.74%, to 2,786.03 and the Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> was down 82.86 points, or 1.10 percent, to 7,448.02.

Nine of the top 11 sectors of S & P were down, with slight gains in the defensive real estate sector. <.splrcr> and consumer goods <.splrcs> index.

General Electric (NYSE: GE) lost 4.8% after JP Morgan lowered its target price to $ 10 from $ 10 to $ 6.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) plunged 13.8% after the video game publisher forecast a profit lower than analysts' estimates for the fourth quarter.

Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS Member), a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index, rose about 3% after the media company reported higher results expectations, attracted by a host of theme parks and the Marvel film "Ant-Man and the Wasp".

Falling issues outnumbered defenders for a ratio of 2.51 to 1 on the NYSE and a ratio of 2.50 to 1 on the Nasdaq.

(Report by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru, additional report by Saikat Chatterjee in London, edited by Arun Koyyur)