• Crackdown hits Didi, Alibaba, Baidu
NEW YORK: The blue-chip Dow slipped 1% on Tuesday, as investors dumped economy-linked value stocks and moved into growth-focused sectors, while a regulatory crackdown by Beijing hammered shares of several US-listed Chinese firms. The tech-heavy Nasdaq and the benchmark S&P 500 also turned negative, easing from their intraday record highs on support from mega-cap technology companies such as Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc.
Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading lower, with energy, financials, industrials and materials facing the brunt of selling. Technology and consumer discretionary gained. Rate-sensitive banks fell 2.9% as the 10-year US Treasury yield hit its lowest level since Feb. 24.
Data, meanwhile, showed US services industry activity grew at a moderate pace in June, likely restrained by labour and raw material shortages. Investors waited for clues from the US Federal Reserve’s policy minutes on when quantitative easing might be tapered. It will be released on Wednesday. “What you’re seeing is interest in the technology space which is maybe a reflection of the US economy still growing but not as fast as it was, and some concerns about the Fed, possibly tapering down the road,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut.
The S&P 500 growth index also hit a record high on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 value index fell 1.5%. The CBOE Volatility index rose 2.3 points, its highest in two weeks.
Didi Global Inc shares slumped 20.4% after Chinese regulators ordered over the weekend the company’s app be taken down days after its $4.4 billion listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
Other US-listed Chinese e-commerce firms, including Alibaba Group, Baidu Inc and JD.com, fell between 3.5% and 4.6% with the Chinese crackdown also weighing on global markets.
At 12:31 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 383.54 points, or 1.10%, at 34,402.81, the S&P 500 was down 35.69 points, or 0.82%, at 4,316.65, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 87.80 points, or 0.60%, at 14,551.52.