U.S. stock indexes fell on Wednesday, pressured by continued trade tensions and a downbeat earnings report. The S&P 500 saw its biggest percentage drop since late June, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average also struggled with a decline in tech stocks and Macy’s whose stock plummeted just below 16 percent on the day. The Dow ended down 0.54 percent while the S&P 500 closed down 0.76 percent. The NASDAQ, however, saw the biggest daily decline, closing 1.23 percent lower.
Wall Street’s major indexes suffered losses late during Wednesday’s trading session after reports were released that Washington is planning more protectionist actions. Though second quarter earnings of late have increased investor optimism, Macy’s significant losses have hampered the excitement and caused traders to pull back some. Thus far 79.1 percent of companies that have reported beat analyst expectations, reported Thomson Reuters. All but 40 S&P 500 companies have already reported.
Currency Movements
The dollar traded near 12-month highs on Wednesday and remained strong on Thursday despite retreating slightly in early Asian trade. The euro was up 0.19 percent against the dollar as of 9:53 a.m. HK/SIN to trade at $1.1365. The dollar was up a modest 0.03 percent against the yen, to trade at 110.76. The dollar also weakened slightly against the Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc, falling 0.03 percent and 0.04 percent respectively.
The dollar’s strength came at the expense of emerging market currencies which have been struggling this week due to the Turkish lira’s steep losses. The lira fell to record lows earlier this week, and though it has since recovered somewhat, the rebound has done little to boost its emerging market counterparts. The South African rand eased more than 2 percent overnight and the Chinese yuan was trading at 15-month lows on Thursday morning. The India rupee was also trading near record lows.