Wall Street has sunk 2 per cent as weak US factory data and the fallout of a rare sales warning from Apple fanned fears of slowing growth and spurred the latest leg of a selloff that has sent indexes to their lowest since mid-2017.
Apple’s shares have slumped 10 per cent after the company slashed its holiday-quarter revenue forecast, saying sales in China slowed more than expected, the first major warning with the US earnings season around the corner.
Meanwhile, Institute of Supply Management data showed US manufacturing activity slowed more than expected in December, with the index of national factory activity dropping to 54.1 last month and missing economists’ estimate of 57.9. That comes after data earlier this week showed a deceleration in factory activity in China and the eurozone, indicating the ongoing US-China trade dispute was taking a toll on global manufacturing. Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors fell on Thursday, led by the technology index’s 4.16 per cent slide.
Within tech, chipmakers, which count both Apple and China as major customers, were hit the hardest. Twenty-nine of 30 chipmakers in the Philadelphia Semi index fell, with Qorvo, Skyworks and Broadcom each off at least 8 per cent The Philadelphia Semiconductor index slumped 4.36 per cent. The trade-sensitive industrials dropped 2.75 per cent, while materials fell 2.39 per cent and three other sectors were logging declines of roughly 2 per cent.
Major car makers reported weak US new car sales in December, with Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co reporting sales falling by 8.8 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively. Ford shares fell 1.5 per cent, while GM dropped 4.1 per cent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 660.02 points, or 2.83 per cent, to 22,686.22, the S&P 500 lost 62.14 points, or 2.48 per cent, to 2,447.89 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 202.43 points, or 3.04 per cent, to 6,463.50.
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