LONDON — Stocks are sinking, again, after disappointing earnings reports from US tech giants Amazon, Google and Snap weighed on an already gloomy global sentiment in markets this week.
US stocks have been having a rocky “red October,” with catalysts ranging from fears about a China trade war, the Fed raising interest rates, and a spike in bond yields. Those worries eased into a relief rally Thursday— with major US benchmarks all up at least 1.6%.
That relief is set to be short-lived once the opening bell rings in New York on Friday — Amazon, Google and Snap all posted earnings that spooked investors, sending Amazon’s stock slumping 8% in early morning trading. Google parent Alphabet was down 5% and Snap lost 7.7% at about 5:10 a.m. in New York.
Here’s how the markets are faring so far:
- The Nasdaq is set for a lower open, with futures down 2.9% in New York pre-market trading. The S&P 500 futures were down 1.6% and the Dow declined 1.2%.
- In European trading, the benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 was down 1.7% as of 10:10 a.m. in London; Germany’s DAX lost 1.8%; the UK’s FTSE 100 was down 1.5%.
- Asian stocks were subdued: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 1.1%; the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.3% and the Nikkei was off by 0.4%
- Oil is falling, crude is down 0.7% to $76 a barrel. Oil and mining companies suffered heavy stock losses in Friday trading. BP, Shell and Rio Tinto posted declines of 1.7% or more.
- Gold, known as a safe-haven asset, is up 0.8%.
