WALL STREET | Technology stocks push the market lower
NEW YORK (AP) — A broad slide by technology companies pushed U.S. stocks lower in morning trading on Wall Street Monday, extending losses into another week.
The U.S. decision to ban technology sales to China’s Huawei hammered the technology sector, particularly chipmakers. Investors are worried that the move could crimp sales for companies with revenue heavily tied to China. Broadcom and Qualcomm are both suppliers of Huawei’s and each get at least half their revenue from China. Their stocks, along with Micron Technology and Xilinx fell sharply.
The ban is also adding more anxiety to a market worried about further escalations in the trade war between the U.S. and China. Both sides have gone back and forth raising additional tariffs on goods. The uncertainty is putting a dent in investor confidence and has pushed stocks lower for the last two weeks.
Consumer-related stocks also fell heavily, led by Amazon and a smattering of other companies, including Nike and Starbucks.
T-Mobile and Sprint were among the few companies to make gains. An expected favorable regulatory decision is going to speed up their $26.5 billion merger.
Utilities and energy were the only sectors to post gains as investors looked for less-risky holdings. Utilities typically benefit when investors are concerned about a slowdown in economic growth and want to put their money into safer holdings.
Companies are nearing the end of the latest earnings season. The results have not been as bad as Wall Street feared, with profit in the broad S&P 500 index contracting less than 1%. Home repair and supplies behemoth Home Depot will report its quarterly results Tuesday and retail giant Target will report results Wednesday.