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The Breakfast Briefing: Weak Earnings Weigh On Global Stocks
FYI: Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%. U.S. stocks fell Wednesday as the start of earnings season exposed weaknesses in the growth outlook for some companies. Morgan Stanley , Procter & Gamble and Microsoft are set to report second-quarter results later Thursday.
Equities fell around the world Thursday as another snag in U.S.-China trade talks and weak earnings shook investor confidence.
The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 0.5%, with the technology sector leading declines. Shares in SAP dropped 7% after the German business software maker reported what Citibank analysts called underwhelming second-quarter results. Nordea Bank fell 5% after the Helsinki-based lender reported a 39% drop in second-quarter net profit.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1%. Progress toward a trade deal has stalled while the Trump administration determines how to address Beijing’s demands that it ease restrictions on Huawei Technologies, people familiar with the talks said. No face-to-face meetings have taken place and none have been scheduled since President Trump and President Xi Jinping of China met last month in Japan and agreed to resume talks.
The Nikkei 225 gauge dropped nearly 2% after Japan’s exports tumbled for the seventh straight month in June, hit by a sharp drop in shipments of chip-making tools and automobile parts to China.
