Wall Street opens lower, headed for losing week

New York, Nov 7 (AP) Stocks are off to a lower start on Wall Street and on track for their first weekly loss in the last four. The S&P 500 fell 0.5 per cent in the early going Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial

Average fell 174 points, or 0.4 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.8 per cent. Markets are reacting to the latest quarterly reports from US companies. Payments company Block, which operates the Square and Cash App businesses, sank after turning in results that fell short of forecasts. Exercise equipment maker Peloton jumped after its results beat estimates. Treasury yields moved higher in the bond market.

Shares were mostly lower in Europe following a retreat Friday in Asia after losses for influential technology stocks pulled Wall Street benchmarks lower.

US futures edged higher and oil prices advanced.

Germany’s DAX edged 0.1 per cent lower and the CAC 40 in Paris was little changed at 7,965.31. Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.4 per cent to 9,696.82.

The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.3 per cent and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 per cent.

In Asian trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 1.2 per cent to 50,276.37.

China reported that its exports contracted 1.1 per cent in October, as shipments to the United States dropped by 25 per cent from a year earlier. But economists expect Chinese exports to recover after US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed last week to de-escalate the trade war between the two largest economies.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.9 per cent to 26,241.83, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.3 per cent to 3,997.56.

South Korea’s Kospi shed 1.8 per cent to 3,953.76 and Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.9 per cent.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 skidded 0.7 per cent to 8,769.70.

Concerns over technology industries have helped drive markets up and down all week.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 1.1 per cent and the Dow industrials declined 0.8 per cent. The Nasdaq composite fell 1.9 per cent.

The biggest weights on the market included Nvidia, which dropped 3.7 per cent, and Microsoft, which fell 2 per cent. Their huge values give them outsized influence over the market’s direction. Other big stocks dragging down the market included Amazon, which slumped 2.9 per cent.

Elon Musk won a shareholder vote on Thursday that would give the Tesla CEO stock worth $1 trillion if he hits certain performance targets over the next decade. The company’s shares, already up 80 per cent in the past year, fell but then rose in after-hours trading, ending at USD 445.91.

Corporate earnings and forecasts remained the big focus for Wall Street on Thursday. The latest round of results and statements from executives could help shed some light on the condition and path ahead for the economy amid a lack of broader information on inflation, employment and retail sales because of the ongoing government shutdown.

DoorDash sank 17.5 per cent for one of the sharpest drops on Wall Street. The food delivery app warned investors that it will be spending significantly more on product development next year.

CarMax slumped 24.3 per cent after giving investors a disappointing financial update and announcing that CEO Bill Nash is stepping down in December.

Software company Datadog jumped 23.1 per cent after its latest earnings beat analysts’ forecasts. Rockwell Automation rose 2.7 per cent after turning in results that easily beat analysts’ forecasts.

The broader stock market has had a record-setting year, but that has raised worries that stocks could be overvalued. Those concerns are even more focused on big technology companies that have been leading the market higher amid the focus on artificial intelligence advancements.

The latest round of earnings is being closely monitored to gauge whether the market’s big values are justified. They also are helping to fill in gaps in information because of the US government shutdown.

Airlines are feeling the impact of the shutdown as airports grapple with critical staffing problems. The Federal Aviation Administration will reduce air traffic by 10 per cent starting Friday across 40 “high-volume” markets. American Airlines fell 2 per cent, Delta Air Lines fell 1.2 per cent and United Airlines fell 1 per cent.

In other dealings early Friday, US benchmark crude oil gained 66 cents to USD 60.09 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 65 cents to USD 64.03 per barrel.

The US dollar rose to 153.48 Japanese yen from 153.06 yen late Thursday. The euro fell to USD1.1537 from USD1.1546.(AP) RD RD