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Trump mulls curbs on US software-enabled exports to China
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Netflix drops after earnings miss
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Texas Instruments slips after dour Q4 forecast
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Tesla results expected shortly
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, – Wall Street closed lower on Wednesday as a wave of mixed earnings, including Netflix’s disappointing results, dampened risk sentiment as investors assessed reports that the Trump administration is considering curbs on exports to China made with U.S. software.
All three major U.S. stock indexes extended their losses after the report, with weakness in tech and communication services stocks weighing the Nasdaq down the most. The new export curbs, which would include a wide array of goods ranging from laptops to jet engines, are some of the measures being considered in retaliation against Beijing’s latest round of rare earth export restrictions, and mark yet another escalation of trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
U.S. President Donald Trump
said on Tuesday
he thinks he will have a “very successful meeting” with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but also said perhaps the
encounter in South Korea
later this month will not happen.
The Washington-Beijing trade dispute “has been ongoing and probably will continue until the potential meeting with Trump and Xi,” said Tom Hainlin, national investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis. “Add to that, some tech companies reported some disappointing numbers.”
“But it’s been a pretty good earnings season, and not that far off all-time highs,” Hainlin added. “We wouldn’t tell investors to change their allocations based on a day like today.” On that front, Netflix slid after the streaming company missed quarterly profit expectations, raising concerns about stretched valuation.
Texas Instruments posted lower-than-expected revenue and profit forecasts, dragging the chipmaker’s shares down.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which has outperformed the broader market this year driven by artificial intelligence fervor, tumbled after touching a record high on Monday. Tesla will be the first of the “Magnificent Seven” group of artificial intelligence-related momentum stocks to post third-quarter earnings when it reports after the closing bell. Collectively, the group accounts for over a third of the S&P 500’s total market capitalization.
Intuitive Surgical jumped following the company’s third-quarter earnings beat.
AT&T fell even as it added more wireless subscribers than expected for the third quarter.
Third-quarter earnings season is well underway, with 86% of the companies having reported beating Wall Street estimates. Analysts currently expect third-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth, on aggregate, of 9.3% year-on-year, an improvement over the 8.8% annual growth estimate as of October 1, according to the most recent data from LSEG.
“You earn high valuations by achieving those expectations, and in general companies have so far been meeting or exceeding those expectations,” Hainlin said. “And those that haven’t are not being rewarded by investors with patience.”
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 35.89 points, or 0.53%, to end at 6,699.47 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 213.27 points, or 0.93%, to 22,740.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 336.48 points, or 0.72%, to 46,588.26.
Beyond Meat’s heavily shorted stock jumped due to a wave of buying among retail traders that echoed the meme stock frenzy in recent years.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.