Share sell-off moderates in Asia after rout on Wall Street

Elaine Kurtenbach, The Associated Press</span>
Published Wednesday, October 24, 2018 11:52PM EDT

BANGKOK -- Shares fell moderately in Asia on Thursday after another torrent of selling on Wall Street sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting more than 600 points, erasing its gains for the year.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index sank sharply on the open but levelled off, regaining some lost ground. By mid-morning it was down 2.9 per cent at 21,443.72. The Shanghai Composite index slipped 1.6 per cent to 2,561.36 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index skidded 1.8 per cent to 24,785.68.

Charts for the entire region were awash with the red that indicates losses, but the declines were mostly in the 2 per cent to 3 per cent range.

"Coming online with the overtly risk-off backdrop from U.S. markets, investors in the Asian region would be taking the cue to head for the doors," Jingyi Pan of IG said in a commentary.

In Hong Kong, airline Cathay Pacific's shares dropped 6.5 per cent after it said it had discovered a data breach affecting 9.4 million passengers.

In New York trading overnight, the Nasdaq composite with its hefty roster of tech stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off, falling more than 10 per cent below its August peak, what Wall Street calls a "correction." It slid 4.4 per cent to 7,108.40, its biggest drop since August 2011 but is still up 3 per cent for the year.

The S&P 500 lost 3.1 per cent to 2,656.10 and has lost about 9.4 per cent from its Sept. 20 peak. The Dow tumbled 2.4 per cent to 24,583.42. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 3.8 per cent to 1,468.70 and is down 4.4 per cent for the year.

Disappointing quarterly results and outlooks are stoking investors' jitters over future growth in corporate profits. Bond prices rose, sending yields lower as traders sought safe-haven investments.

"Investors are on pins and needles," said Erik Davidson, chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank. "There has definitely been a change in sentiment for investors starting with the volatility we had last week. The sentiment and the outlook seems to be turning more negative, or at the very least, less rosy."

Investors have grown concerned in recent weeks that Corporate America's tax cut-fueled earnings growth this year will fade in coming months amid rising inflation, uncertainty over the escalating trade conflict between the U.S. and China and the likelihood of higher interest rates. Recent signs that the housing market is slowing are fueling speculation that U.S. economic growth will start to slow next year.

Bond prices rose, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note down to 3.12 per cent from 3.16 per cent late Tuesday. The slide in bond yields came as traders sought out lower-risk assets.

Technology stocks and media and communications companies accounted for much of the selling. Banks, health care and industrial companies also took heavy losses, outweighing gains by utilities and other high-dividend stocks.

Most companies that missed earnings expectations or issued cautionary outlooks were punished.

AT&T sank after reporting weak subscriber numbers, and chipmaker Texas Instruments fell 8.2 per cent after reporting slumping demand.

Shares in iRobot plunged 12.3 per cent to $80.49 after the robotics technology company said tariffs will reduce its profitability in the fourth quarter.

United Parcel Service slid 5.5 per cent to $107.93 after the shipping company reported weak international revenue, while the strong dollar and high fuel prices also hurt its results.

About 24 per cent of the companies in the S&P 500 had reported third-quarter results as of Wednesday. Of those, 57 per cent delivered earnings and revenue results that topped Wall Street's forecasts.

High-flying companies like Netflix and Amazon took some of the biggest losses Wednesday. Netflix gave back 9.4 per cent to $301.83 and Amazon dropped 5.9 per cent to $1,664.20.

AT&T was among the big decliners in the media and communications sector, dropping 8.1 per cent to $30.36 after the communication giant's latest quarterly results fell short of Wall Street's expectations.

Boeing was one of the few gainers Wednesday. It rose 1.3 per cent to $354.65 after the defence contractor's latest quarterly results topped analysts' forecasts. The company also raised its estimates for the year, citing faster orders for aircraft.

In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 50 cents to $66.34 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday it edged up 0.6 per cent to settle at $66.82 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, declined 56 cents to $75.61 a barrel.

The dollar weakened to 112.08 yen from 112.23 yen. The euro rose to $1.1412 from $1.1393.

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AP Business Writer Alex Veiga and AP Economics Writer Paul Wiseman contributed.

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