Chip makers lead Wall Street lower on concerns over China

Bengaluru — US stocks dropped on Wednesday as weak results from AT&T and a sour outlook from chip makers ahead of key earnings added to growing worries about corporate profit growth and overshadowed optimism from Boeing’s raised forecast.

A slew of results this week is expected to throw a spotlight on the risk of a slowdown in China, the world’s number two economy, spilling beyond its borders and eating into US corporate profits.

“The biggest theme is the trade front and what’s going on with China’s slowdown … because it’s such a big demand-space for a lot of industrial and tech companies,” said Shawn Cruz, manager of trader strategy at TD Ameritrade in New Jersey. “Right now with earnings season going on … there’s plenty to focus on that can give you an idea on what China is doing and what impact tariffs are having on a lot of these companies.”

Chip makers, already struggling with over-supply and reliant on China for a significant portion of profit, dropped after Texas Instruments forecast weak current quarter and STMicroelectronics signaled slowing demand in China.

Texas Instruments dropped 4.9%, helping pull the Philadelphia Semi-conductor index down 3.63%. Advanced Micro Devices, which reports results after the bell, fell 6.1% and Intel, reporting on Thursday, dropped 2.3%.

The beaten-down S&P technology sector retreated 1.86%. Microsoft, which also reports after the bell, fell 2.2%. AT&T tumbled 6.6% after the US wireless carrier’s quarterly profit rose less than expected, held back by its declining satellite TV business. This weighed on shares of other media companies, with the communications services sector sliding 2.32%, the most among the 11 major S&P sectors.

Boeing, the single largest US exporter to China, rose 1.1% after the aircraft maker raised its full-year expectations. This helped keep the Dow Jones Industrial Average open higher, before the mood soured.

At 3.20pm GMT the Dow was down 251.89 points, or 1.0%, at 24,939.54, the S&P 500 was down 32.76 points, or 1.2%, at 2,707.93 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 119.68 points, or 1.61%, at 7,317.86. Only the defensive utilities, real estate and consumer staples posted gains among the 11 major indices.

While earnings from S&P 500 companies are expected to have increased about 22% in the third quarter, 2018 is seen as a peak for the profit cycle, according to Refinitiv data.

United Parcel Service dropped 3.5% after the company said changing US trade policies weighed on international results.

Ford, due to report after the closing bell, fell 3.1%.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.73-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 2.36-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and 31 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 11 new highs and 204 new lows. 

Reuters