TECH STOCKS LEAD THE WAY DOWN AGAIN
Tech, retail lead plunge; oil prices also taking a beating
NEW YORK — Stocks dropped again Tuesday as losses mounted for the world’s largest technology companies. Retailers also fell, and energy companies plunged with oil prices as the market sank back into the red for the year.
Oil prices tumbled another 6.6 percent as Wall Street reacted to rising oil supplies and concerns that global economic growth will slow down, a worry that’s intensified because of the trade tensions between the U.S. and China. U.S. crude has plunged 30 percent since early October.
Technology companies were hit after the Trump administration proposed new national security regulations that could limit exports of high-tech products in fields such as quantum computing, machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Retailers also skidded. Target’s profit disappointed investors as it spends more money to revamp its stores and its website, while Ross Stores, TJX and Kohl’s also fell on disappointing forecasts.
The S&P 500 index fell 1.8 percent, to 2,641.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 551.80 points, or 2.2 percent, to 24,465.64, and the techheavy Nasdaq composite lost 1.7 percent, to close at 6,908.82.
The S&P 500 is now down 9.9 percent from the record high it set exactly two months ago.
Investors are measuring headwinds and increasingly playing it safe. The global economy is showing signs of weakening, with the United States, China and Europe all facing the rising threat of a slowdown, which can hurt demand for commodities such as oil and pose a threat to company profits. Trade tensions between the U.S. and China appear to be getting worse instead of improving, contributing to the sell-off in tech stocks and multinational industrial companies.
The price of oil has been falling sharply in recent weeks.
Saudi Arabia and other countries started producing more oil earlier this year after the Trump administration announced renewed sanctions on Iran, Nixon noted.