TOKYO (AP) — Global shares retreated on Thursday, with Tokyo’s benchmark losing more than 1,300 points at one point and closing down more than 3%, as pessimism set in over a nose-dive on Wall Street.
France's CAC 40 slipped 1.5% in early trading to 7,400.08. Germany's DAX fell 1.2% to 18,161.70, while Britain's FTSE 100 shed 1.1% to 8,066.27.
The future for the S&P 500 fell 0.2% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%.
U.S. stock indexes suffered their worst losses since 2022 after profit reports from Tesla and Alphabet helped suck momentum from Wall Street’s frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.
In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 3.3% to 37,869.51, its lowest close since April.
The recently strengthening yen, which has recovered from trading above 160 Japanese yen to the dollar earlier this month, hurts profits of Japanese exporters when they are brought back to Japan. Toyota Motor Corp. shares dropped 2.6%, while Sony Group's sank 5.4%.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged down to 152.50 yen from 153.89 yen. The euro cost $1.0844, up from $1.0841.
The yen has been gaining against the dollar largely because of speculation the Bank of Japan will raise its near-zero benchmark interest rate soon. The central bank's next policy meeting ends on July 31.
“The major risk is that the BOJ might refuse to hike next week, causing the entire long yen trade to collapse. But that’s probably just a bad thought,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
Chinese shares fell as investors questioned a central bank decision to cut another key interest rate after several similar moves earlier this week.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1.7% to 17,021.91, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.5% to 2,886.74.
South Korea’s Kospi declined 1.7% to 2,710.65 after the government reported the economy contracted at a 0.2% rate in the last quarter.
Among the region’s technology shares, Samsung Electronics fell nearly 2%, while Nintendo lost 2.4%. Tokyo Electron tumbled nearly 5%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.3% to 7,861.20.
Wednesday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 tumbled 2.3% for its fifth drop in the last six days, closing at 5,427.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.2% to 39,853.87, and the Nasdaq composite skidded 3.6% to 17,342.41.
Profit expectations are high for U.S. companies broadly, but particularly so for the small group of stocks known as the “ Magnificent Seven.” Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla need to keep delivering powerful growth after being responsible for most of the S&P 500’s run to records this year.
Tesla was one of the heaviest weights on the market and tumbled 12.3% after reporting a 45% drop in profit for the spring, and its earnings fell short of analysts’ forecasts.
Tesla has become one of Wall Street’s most valuable companies not just because of its electric vehicles but also because of its AI initiatives, such as a robotaxi. That’s a tough business to assign a value to, according to UBS analysts led by Joseph Spak, and the “challenge is that the time frame, and probability of success is not clear.”
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 59 cents to $77.00 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 56 cents to $81.26 a barrel.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
U.S. stocks are adding to their records as Wall Street cruises toward the finish line of another winning week. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% Friday and is heading for its seventh winning week in the last nine.
U.S. stocks edged up to more records. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.4%. All three set all-time highs. Technology stocks helped lead the way after OpenAI announced partnerships with South Korean companies for its Stargate artificial-intelligence infrastructure project. Fair Isaac surged to its best day in nearly three years after unveiling a program where customers can potentially bypass big credit bureaus for FICO credit scores. Stock indexes also rose across much of Europe and Asia, while Treasury yields eased in the bond market.
U.S. stocks are drifting toward more records as Wall Street still doesn’t seem to care much about the latest shutdown of the U.S. government.
It pays less and less to buy and flip a home these days. The typical home flipping profit margin fell in the second quarter to its lowest level since 2008, with a typical return of 25.1% before expenses. That's according to an analysis by Attom, a real estate data company. Rising home prices are driving up acquisition costs, making flipping less profitable. The median price for a flipped home reached a record high of $259,700, according to Attom. Meanwhile, with many aspiring homeowners priced out of the market, real estate investors are taking up a bigger share of U.S. home sales overall.
A new report finds the Department of Government Efficiency’s remaking of the federal workforce has battered the Washington job market and put more households in the metropolitan area in financial distress.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday signaled a cautious approach to future interest rate cuts, in sharp contrast with other Fed officials who have called for a more urgent approach. In remarks in Providence, Rhode Island, Powell noted that there are risks to both of the Fed’s goals of seeking maximum employment and stable prices. His approach is in sharp contrast to some members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee who are pushing for faster cuts.
Wall Street is rising toward more records, led by a rally for technology stocks. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% Thursday.
