AGL 40.25 Increased By ▲ 0.24 (0.6%)
AIRLINK 127.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.39 (-0.3%)
BOP 6.57 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.45%)
CNERGY 4.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-2.17%)
DCL 8.61 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (1.53%)
DFML 41.90 Increased By ▲ 0.42 (1.01%)
DGKC 87.94 Increased By ▲ 1.36 (1.57%)
FCCL 32.65 Increased By ▲ 0.51 (1.59%)
FFBL 65.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.42 (-0.64%)
FFL 10.25 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
HUBC 109.59 Decreased By ▼ -0.90 (-0.81%)
HUMNL 14.57 Decreased By ▼ -0.18 (-1.22%)
KEL 5.12 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.19%)
KOSM 7.54 Increased By ▲ 0.42 (5.9%)
MLCF 41.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-0.36%)
NBP 59.51 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-0.97%)
OGDC 194.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.69 (-0.35%)
PAEL 28.25 Increased By ▲ 0.30 (1.07%)
PIBTL 7.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.20 (-2.5%)
PPL 151.80 Increased By ▲ 0.63 (0.42%)
PRL 26.55 Decreased By ▼ -0.33 (-1.23%)
PTC 16.19 Increased By ▲ 0.19 (1.19%)
SEARL 82.60 Increased By ▲ 4.40 (5.63%)
TELE 7.67 Increased By ▲ 0.28 (3.79%)
TOMCL 35.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.17 (-0.48%)
TPLP 8.18 Increased By ▲ 0.27 (3.41%)
TREET 16.11 Increased By ▲ 0.22 (1.38%)
TRG 52.91 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (0.28%)
UNITY 26.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.19%)
WTL 1.24 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-2.36%)
BR100 9,923 Increased By 2.8 (0.03%)
BR30 30,761 Increased By 9.2 (0.03%)
KSE100 93,565 Increased By 340.7 (0.37%)
KSE30 28,992 Increased By 107.4 (0.37%)

US stocks finished a punishing session sharply lower Wednesday, with major indices sinking more than two percent and the Dow and S&P 500 tumbling and wiping out all the 2018 gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.4 percent to close at 24,583.42, a single day loss of more than 600 points.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index plummeted 4.4 percent to finish at 7,108.40, posting its worst day since 2011, while the broad-based S&P 500 sank 3.1 percent to 2,656.15. The losses followed a mixed day of corporate earnings that analysts fear signal the economy is exiting the "peak" earnings environment helped by US tax cuts that were enacted late last year.
Investors also have been unnerved by comments from industrial companies saying trade conflicts have raised material costs.
"Costs are increasing and it''s often tariff-related. We also reached a potential peak for earnings," said Nate Thooft, senior managing director at Manulife Mutual Funds.
"Companies that show marginal weakness take a beating."
The share price declines also came after data on US home sales fell to their slowest pace in nearly two years, and a Federal Reserve report showed firms nationwide are worried about the rising hit from tariffs and widespread labor shortages.
The expectation the Fed will continue to raise interest rates also has buffeted stocks this month, alongside anxiety over the fallout from the murder of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi and an ongoing budget dispute between Italy and Brussels.
Technology shares were especially hard hit Wednesday, with Amazon losing 5.9 percent, Facebook 5.4 percent, Google-parent Alphabet 4.8 percent and Netflix 9.4 percent.
Chip companies also sank following a disappointing forecast from Texas Instruments, which dropped 8.2 percent. Applied Materials lost 5.1 percent, Micron 8.4 percent and Advanced Micro Devices 9.2 percent.
A rare bright spot was Boeing, which advanced 1.3 percent after raising its full-year profit forecast.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2018

Comments

Comments are closed.