The Nasdaq composite index lost 88 points, or 1.7 percent, to 5,171.
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NORTH KOREA ANGST: Also weighing on sentiment was the news that North Korea had conducted a “higher level” nuclear test explosion on Friday that will allow it to finally build “at will” an array of stronger, smaller and lighter nuclear weapons.
Traders also bid up crude oil prices.
Falls were broad based, with every sector bar financials, which have suffered from lower interest rates, in negative territory.
“We have a good probability that we’re getting it by the end of the year”, said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slid 6 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,179.
Shares in British pub operator Greene King fell sharply after the company warned trading conditions could get tougher following Britain’s “Brexit” vote in June to quit the European Union. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7644, down from US$0.7707 on Thursday.
Friday’s swoon was a swift reversal for the market. And the Dow and S&P 500 hit new highs last month.
The signs of a rough day appeared early on Friday as the market opened lower.
In a speech early Friday, Fed Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren suggested a case could be made for the central bank to raise its key interest rate sooner rather than later.
The Fed is scheduled to hold a policy meeting later this month. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the Apple supplier with the biggest weighting on the gauge, fell 1.9 percent, capping its second day of decline after reaching a record on Wednesday.
The big four banks – Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac, National Australia Bank and ANZ Bank – are lower in a range of 0.9 percent to 1.3 percent. US bond yields surged on news that the European Central Bank chose to leave its key interest rates unchanged and hold off on extending a stimulus program. Those stocks have been in favor among investors seeking income while interest rates and bond yields remained ultra-low. AT&T fell 1.48 dollars, or 3.6%, to 39.71 dollars, while Verizon slid 1.78 dollars, or 3.3%, to 51.82 dollars. Diamond Offshore Drilling gained 83 cents, or 5.2 percent, to $16.78. Benchmark U.S. crude shed 60 cents to $47.02 a barrel in NY while Brent crude, used to price worldwide oils, lost 82 cents to $49.17 in London. Digital Realty Trust lost $3.02, or 3 percent, to $97.45. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.5 percent to 24,026.89, while the Shanghai Composite slipped almost 0.2 percent to 3,090.58.
On Wall Street, stocks closed modestly lower on Thursday following the European Central Bank’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged.
In Europe, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.4 percent to 4,517 while Germany’s DAX slipped 0.5 percent to 10,625.
South Korea’s market.KS11 added 0.4 per cent, having also touched a one-year top this week.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 151.78 points, or 1.03 perc ent, to 14,651.48. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rebounded from an initial drop to finish little changed, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.8 percent. Natural gas rose 13 cents, or 4.9 percent, to $2.81 per 1,000 cubic feet. Meanwhile, the dollar rose 0.2 percent to 102.73 yen.
Falling stocks were outnumbering advancers by more than 8-to-1, and the index was heading for a 0.7-per-cent slip on the holiday-shortened week.
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“They’re not adding more stimulus, and that maybe makes people feel less like they need to pile into US bonds”, said Delwiche. Don’t include URLs to Web sites.
