Wall Street ends lower on renewed trade concerns, dollar strength

Economies.com
2018-08-15 20:58PM UTC

US stock indices closed the third session of the week lower  as a dollar surge to 14-month highs weighed on export stocks, while the Turkish Lira's recent plunge and global trade tensions continued to weigh on sentiment.  

 

Industrial, Retail Sales Data 

 

An index tracking the manufacturing sector in New York state rose to 25.6, the best reading since October 2017, while unit labor costs tumbled 0.9% in the second quarter,  the first such decline since the last quarter of 2013, and compared to a 2.9% increase in the first quarter. 

 

Non-farm productivity jumped 2.9% in the second quarter, up from 0.4% in the first.

 

A drop in unit labor costs harms inflation and wage growth prospects, with the same effect from an increase in productivity.

 

US industrial production barely grew 0.1% in July, compared to a 1% increase in June, revised from 0.6%, while analysts expected a 0.3% increase. 

 

The capacity utilization rate remained unchanged at 78.1% in July, slightly missing estimates of 78.2%. 

 

 Indices, Commodities 

 

Dow Jones fell 0.54%, or 137.51 points to 25,162.41, while Standard and Poor's 500 shed 0.76%, or 21.59 points to 2,818.37. NASDAQ Composite tumbled 1.23%, or 96.78 points to 7,774.12. 

 

Gold futures due in December fell 1.53% to $1,182.30 an ounce, marking June 27 lows, while the dollar index shed 0.06% to 96.68, moving off year highs. 

 

US crude futures due in September fell 3.18% to $64.91 a barrel, marking June 21 lows, while Brent October futures slumped 2.32% to $70.78 a barrel, hitting April 10 lows. 

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