Global Markets On Edge After U.S. China Tensions Rise

Barry Adams
02 Aug, 2022
New York City

Benchmark indexes struggled to find their footing and closed down at the end of a choppy session. 

Job openings at the end of June declined 605,000 to 10.7 million or fell 6.6%, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey reported Tuesday. 

Retail trade led the decline with 343,000 fewer postings followed by 82,000 in wholesale trade, and 62,000 in local and state government education. 

Hires and total separations were little changed at 6.4 million and 5.9 million respectively. 

The S&P 500 index decreased  27.34 or 0.7% to 4,091.10 and the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.2% or 20.22 to 12,348.76. 

Futures of crude oil rose 25 cents to $94.18 a barrel and natural gas fell 62 cents to $7.65 a unit. 

The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes edged up a fraction to 2.75% after tensions between the U.S. and China rose ahead of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. 

Caterpillar fell 5.8% to $183.51 after the heavy equipment maker reported slightly lower than expected quarterly revenues because of its exit from Russia. 

Uber Technologies Inc rose 18.9% to $29.25 after the ride hailing platform said it turned cash flow positive for the first time. 

Uber said gross bookings increased 33% from a year ago to $29.1 billion and revenues soared 105% to $8.1 billion and swung to a quarterly loss of $2.6 billion or $1.33 a diluted share driven in part by investment losses of $1.7 billion. 

Pinterest Inc rose 12.2% to $22.31 after the photo sharing platform said second quarter revenues increased 9% to $665.9 million and swung to a net loss of $43 million from net income of $69 million a year ago.

Pinterest's global active monthly users declined 5% from a year ago to 433 million.  

The stock jumped after the activist investor Elliott Management confirmed that it is the largest shareholder in the company. 

Cowen Inc increased 8.4% to $38.46 after the company agreed to be acquired by Toronto Dominion Bank for $39 a share or $1.3 billion in cash. 

 

European Markets Trend Lower, AP Moller, BP, Generali In Focus 

European markets traded lower on the worries that the rising tensions between the U.S. and China may spillover in the new round of trade war. 

The DAX index declined 0.2% to 13,449.20, the CAC-40 index fell 0.4% to 6,409.80, and the FTSE 100 index eased 0.05% to 7,409.11. 

A.P. Moller-Maersk increased 2.9  to 13.96 euros after the Danish shipping company raised its full-year guidance for underlying operating profits to about $31 billon from the previous estimate of $24 billion.

Assicurazioni Generali SpA fell 1.9% to 14.60 euros despite the largest Italian insurance company said it has met all its target set in its strategic plan for the next two years. 

BP Plc gained 3.6% to 406.40 pence after the the British oil exploration company increased its dividend and expanded its stock buyback after the company reported its best quarterly results in 14 years.  

Man Group Plc plunged 9.9% to 241.24 pence after the U.K.-based asset management company reported its first decline in assets under management in more than two years.  

 

Asian Markets Ease On China-U.S. Tensions 

In Asia, benchmark indexes traded lower after the U.S.-China tensions rose ahead of the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit later in the day. 

The Nikkei 225 index declined 1.4% to 27,594.73, the Hang Seng index dropped 2.4% to 19,689,51, and the Sensex index edged up a fraction to 58,136.36.