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Nasdaq edges to record as trade fears weigh on Dow
NEW YORK, June 6, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Worries about a trade war weighed on
Wall Street stocks Tuesday, but the Nasdaq mustered a second straight record
following a strong reading on US service sector activity.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index led the major indices, winning 0.4
percent to close the day at 7,637.86.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1 percent to end at 24,799.98,
while the broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 2,748.80.
Trade tensions dominated the headlines, with White House advisor Larry
Kudlow saying the president would prefer bilateral agreements with Mexico and
Canada to a rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Canadian and Mexican officials, however, said they remained focused on a
three-nation trade deal to revise the 1994 trade pact.
The back-and-forth came as Mexico released a detailed list of specific US
products facing retaliatory import duties, including a host of steel
products, pork, fruits, cheese and bourbon.
A survey from the Business Roundtable showed Trump’s trade policies are
starting to weigh on business sentiment, with CEOs less bullish on hiring,
capital investment and sales. The index, while still above historical
averages, fell for the first time in Trump’s presidency.
“We’re not getting any clarity,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist
at Wunderlich Securities. “All we’re hearing about is tariffs and retaliatory
actions.”
A report from the Institute for Supply Management showing strong services
sector activity in May.
“The data continue to prove out the fundamental backdrop being strong, but
there’s a concern on the other side of that of what would it mean if we took
this trade policy to its possible conclusion,” Hogan said.
Among individual companies, Starbucks dropped 2.4 percent after former
chief executive and chairman Howard Schultz announced he was stepping down
from the coffee giant.
Twitter surged 5.0 percent after S&P Dow Jones Indices announced it would
add the microblogging company to its S&P 500 index to replace Monsanto, which
is being acquired by Bayer.
Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line both lost more than four percent
following a negative report on the cruise industry from Morgan Stanley.
BSS/AFP/HR/1115