Markets under pressure | Calamatta Cuschieri

Stocks closed sharply lower Monday amid a chorus of worries including oil-price swings, fears of weakening global growth together with price pressure from a buoyant US dollar. The Dow finished 602 points, or 2.3%, lower at 25,387 while the S&P 500 index closed off 2% at 2,726. The Nasdaq saw the steepest decline, ending down 2.8% at 7,201 as the tech sector experienced a broad sell-off led by Apple’s expectations on lower iPhone demand.

European markets also moved firmly lower as investors wrestled with the latest developments tied to Italy’s contentious budget plan and Britain’s negotiation’s to strike a Brexit deal with EU leaders. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1% to close at 362.03 and Germany’s DAX 30 ended the day 1.8% lower at 11,325.44 with the U.K.’s FTSE 100 finishing 0.7% lower at 7,053.08.

Apple expects lower iPhone demand

Shares in Asian parts suppliers and assemblers for Apple Inc fell this week after several component makers warned of weaker than expected results, leading some market watchers to call the peak for iPhones in several key markets. Fresh warnings on production cuts from screen maker Japan Display Inc, British chipmaker IQE Plc, and Lumentum Holdings Inc, the main supplier of the Face ID technology in the latest generation of iPhones, hurt technology stocks.

Last week a media report saying the iPhone maker had told its smartphone assemblers to halt plans for additional production lines dedicated to its new lower-priced iPhone XR had pressured supplier stocks. Following a poor forecast earlier this month, analysts and investors voiced concern over the state of Apple’s business, contributing to growing worries that iPhone sales were stagnating and could hurt suppliers. The Cupertino, California-based tech giant’s shares fell to their lowest level in more than three months on Monday.

Amazon decides on New York and North Virginia for HQ2

Amazon.com Inc is due to announce that it has selected New York and Northern Virginia for its second headquarters, ending a more than year-long contest that has seen frenzied bidding from locales across North America. The company had originally said, in September 2017, that it would spend more than $5 billion and add up to 50,000 workers at a single location for its second headquarters.

Amazon’s plan to split its second headquarters, dubbed “HQ2”, evenly between two cities will boost its presence around New York and the nation’s capital as it seeks to gain a recruiting edge over Silicon Valley tech firms. It has got more than 200 proposals since then from cities and states promising billions of dollars of tax breaks and other inducements in exchange for Amazon’s “HQ2”. The bidding locales also handed over infrastructure, labor and other data that could prove useful in other ways to the world’s top online retailer.

Disclaimer: This article was issued by Peter Petrov, junior trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article are being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.