The Week In Review

8/9/19

The major averages concluded a wild week on the downside amid trade war fears and worries over the global economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 90 points at 26,287. The S&P 500 dipped 0.7% while the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 1%.Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors finished lower, led by the energy (-1.3%) and information technology (-1.3%) sectors. Energy stocks fell despite the sharp increase in oil prices up 4% while the tech sector was pressured by shares of semiconductor companies, many of which derive substantial revenue from China. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 1.8%. For the week, the Dow ended down 0.75%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq lost 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively.

President Donald Trump stoked the trade fears today saying the U.S. is not ready to strike a trade deal with China and that the US would not do business with the Chinese firm, Huawei. Chipmakers Micron Technology and Skyworks Solutions that do business with Huawei closed down more than 2.5%.

Besides the trade war, The U.S. officially declared China a currency manipulator earlier this week. The U.S. designation came after China let its currency, the yuan, fall to its lowest level in a decade relative to the dollar, sparking the biggest sell-off of 2019 for stocks on Monday.

On the earnings front, Uber fell 6.8% after the company reported a wider-than-expected $5.2 billion quarterly loss. Revenue also came up short of estimates, but today's decline simply retraced much of yesterday's 8% rally.

In other corporate news, Amgen shares spiked 6.0% following a positive ruling regarding its Enbrel business. DXC Technology plunged over 30% after it cut its FY20 outlook, while Dropbox fell 12.8% despite providing decent results and guidance.