FYI: U.S. stocks fell Thursday after the release of a whistleblower complaint that has sparked an impeachment push against President Trump clouded the political outlook.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 79 points, 0.29% after recovering some of those losses in afternoon trading. The S&P 500 dropped 0.24%, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.58%.
The House Intelligence Committee released a whistleblower complaint Thursday that alleges President Trump sought to use the powers of his office to coerce Ukraine to investigate a political rival.
The controversy has become a political danger to Mr. Trump’s presidency and has rallied House Democrats to seek impeachment proceedings.
While the odds of the president actually being removed from office appear remote, the magnitude of the fight has forced market players to pay attention. The U.K. political battle over Brexit likewise has traders fixated.
In the S&P 500, most sectors fell, while defensive sectors like consumer staples, real estate and utilities, rose.
Conagra Brands gained 5.3% after the company topped profit estimates for the latest quarter and reaffirmed its outlook, offsetting a sales miss.
Carnival shares fell 8.1% after the cruise-ship company cut its outlook for the year, citing disruptions from Hurricane Dorian and tensions in the Arab Gulf. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings both dropped more than 2%.
Peloton Interactive shares debuted on the public markets with a red tint. The stock fell 7.5% to $26.82 after the company’s shares priced Wednesday night at $29, the top of the projected range.
The weak open is another dent in the IPO market, after the high-profile postponement of WeWork parent company’s offering.
Investors and traders also continued to monitor the state of trade talks between the U.S. and China.
The yield on U.S. 10-year Treasurys slipped to 1.681% from 1.732% Wednesday. In commodity markets, U.S. crude dropped 1.3%. Gold prices added 0.2%.
Overseas, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6%, the German DAX gained 0.4% and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.8%.
Better-than-expected consumer data released Thursday showed that German shoppers remained somewhat resilient in the face of a sharp slowdown in the industrial sector.
Meanwhile, the ECB’s most senior German official unexpectedly resigned Wednesday amid disputes over the central bank’s bond-buying program, and analysts suggested the move could have an effect on the bank’s decision making.
“This might open up a spot for a more dovish member to replace her, which could make any further attempts to ease policy a little easier, further down the line,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.
In Asia, the Nikkei climbed 0.1% after the U.S. and Japan signed a trade-enhancement agreement, which will lower agricultural tariffs in Japan, industrial tariffs in the U.S. and set new rules for digital trade.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-26/your-evening-briefingMarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-index-futures-edge-higher-as-trade-hopes-rise-2019-09-26/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-tick-higher-on-trade-hopes-11569487120Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-25/asia-stock-futures-rise-on-trade-dollar-climbs-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/stock-market-falls-after-impeachment-moves-two-breakouts-buck-trend/CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/26/dow-futures-lower-ahead-of-jobless-gdp-numbers.htmlReuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-street-drops-as-huawei-report-washington-turmoil-weigh-idUSKBN1WB1HIU.K:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-100-scales-eight-week-high-as-trade-hopes-trump-slew-of-profit-alerts-idUKKBN1WB0QWEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks/update-2-european-shares-rally-as-trade-optimism-outweighs-political-concerns-idUSL5N26H4WNAsia:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/26/asia-markets-september-26-us-china-trade-us-politics-currencies.htmlBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/26/treasury-yields-slide-on-weak-consumer-data-ukraine-saga-continues.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/26/forex-markets-donald-trump-impeachment-probe-in-focus.htmlOil
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/26/oil-markets-us-china-trade-in-focus.htmlGold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/25/gold-markets-donald-trump-impeachment-inquiry-in-focus.htmlWSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/usMajor ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitorSPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-trackerSPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectorsCurrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx 
