The stock exchanges in New York are closed again in red on Wednesday. This happened under the leadership of tech and financial stocks. Investors also digested few surprising figures about US inflation and the ups and downs surrounding the Brexit. There are also concerns about the impact of the forest fires that are raging in California, and especially about who will pay for the damage.
The leading Dow-Jones index closed 0.8 percent lower at 25.080.50 points. The broad S & P 500 dropped 0.8 percent to 2701.58 points and technology index Nasdaq ended 0.9 percent down at 7136.40 points. The indicators were given a small impulse by the announcement of the British Prime Minister Theresa May who said she had support from her cabinet for the Brexit agreement.
Various stocks went on the free fall. Especially the electricity company PG & E was the bitten dog with a drop of 22 percent. The company fears “significant obligations” if indeed it appears that its equipment has caused the forest fires.
Tech company Apple again saw 2.8 percent of its stock market value evaporate. Concerns about lesser sales prospects for the new iPhones have been keeping investors busy for days.
Snap, the company behind the popular Snapchat app, lost 3.4 percent. The US authorities have sent a notice to Snap for accusations of misleading investors at the IPO in March last year. Snap would have made false statements about how the competition from photo-app Instagram undermined the growth of Snapchat.
Macy’s boosted comparable sales in the recent quarter, with higher profits. In addition, the retail business was more positive about sales for the entire financial year. However, the stock was reduced by 7.2 percent.
The euro was worth $1.1318, against $1.1314 at the end of the European stock exchanges. Oil prices rebounded after reports that OPEC oil cartel is considering reducing oil production again to support the price. A barrel of American oil cost 0.8 percent more at 56.14 dollars. Brent oil became 0.9 percent more expensive at $66.07.
