The Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — Global stock markets turned lower on Friday after weak earnings from Visa and Amazon and as European countries planned a range of sanctions against some Russian businesses.
Shares in Amazon slid 11 percent after the company posted a loss that was much larger than expected because of the cost of trying to enter the smartphone market. Meanwhile, Visa, which is watched as a barometer for consumer spending, lowered its profit outlook due to concerns about overseas growth.
Sentiment was further hit after EU officials said they had agreed on a preliminary plan to impose limits on trade with Russia of defense, technology and other goods with Russia. They also proposed restricting access to European capital markets for Russian state-owned financial groups. It would be the first time the EU imposes broad penalties on businesses, having limited them so far on individuals.
In Europe, Germany’s DAX slumped 1.5 percent to 9,644.01 while the CAC-40 in France dropped 1.8 percent to 4,330.55. Russia’s MICEX lost 1.5 percent, but closed before the full impact of the market sell-off. The FTSE 100 index in London fell a more moderate 0.4 percent to 6,791.55 after new figures showed Britain’s economy has expanded past its pre-crisis peak.
On Wall Street, the Dow fell 0.8 percent to 16,951.63 and the S&P 500 shed 0.5 percent to 1,978.75.
Looking ahead, many traders are waiting for U.S. economic data due next week.
Chris Weston, a market strategist at IG Group, said that the estimate of U.S. second-quarter GDP, due Wednesday, would show the world’s largest economy picking up to growth of 2.9 percent. A meeting of the Federal Reserve is set for the same day and inflation numbers are due Thursday.
Earlier in Asia, more positive sentiment was partially fueled by favorable U.S. jobs data indicating that the world’s largest economy is continuing to recover. U.S. unemployment claims fell to an eight-year low, declining by 19,000 to 284,000. An improvement in China’s manufacturing reported the day before also continued to bolster Asian stocks markets.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.1 percent to 15,457.87 and South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.4 percent to 2,033.85. China’s Shanghai Composite added 1 percent to 2,226.78 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3 percent to 24,247.20.
Other Asian markets were lackluster. India’s Sensex was down 0.8 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.1 percent.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude oil for September delivery was down 41 cents to $101.66 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In currencies, the euro inched down to $1.3426 from $1.3465 late Thursday. The dollar rose to 101.83 yen from 101.77 yen.
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