Wall Street slumps on hot PPI data, tariffs concerns
Wall Street's weakness partly stemmed from renewed inflation fears after the Labor Department's report showed producer prices for final demand surging 0.5% in December?double the expected 0.2% rise from November. Year-over-year, prices held steady at 3.0%, missing forecasts of a slowdown to 2.7%.
Trump's tariff threats added to the gloom, including a 50% levy on Canadian aircraft for refusing to certify Gulfstream jets and new duties on goods from countries selling oil to Cuba. Traders also digested his nomination of ex-Fed Governor Kevin Warsh to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell, with concerns he may prove less dovish than hoped.
Gold stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances amid a nosedive by the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plummeting by 12.6%. Semiconductor and computer hardware stocks also saw substantial weakness, contributing to the slump by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Steel, airline, biotechnology and housing stocks notably moved to the downside, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.
Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1%, China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled by 2.1%. The major European markets moved to the upside on the day while the German DAX Index advanced by 0.9% the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.7% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.5%.
In the bond market, treasuries gave back ground following the rebound seen on Thursday. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note which moves opposite of its price, rose 1.4 bps to 4.24%.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
