US: Nasdaq ends 2.4% lower as Wall Street selloff resumes

THE Nasdaq suffered another ugly round of selling on Tuesday as a briefly upbeat market ran into a wall of weak earnings and economic data. The momentum from Monday’s sunny session ended with a thud as two of the three major indices ended back in the red after investment banks UBS Group and JPMorgan Chase cut their China economic growth forecasts. Sentiment was further dented by data showing new US home sales plunging in April to their lowest level in two years. Analysts also cited Snap’s warning late Monday that key financial benchmarks would lag earlier estimates. The results reflect that “the macroeconomic environment has deteriorated further and faster than expected,” said Snap, which plunged nearly 40 per cent early Tuesday. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 2.4 per cent to 11,264.45. The broad-based S&P 500 also fell, losing 0.8 per cent to 3,941.48, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2 per cent to 31,928.62. “Everything is weakening at a faster clip than anyone expected and that does not bode well for the US consumer and for short-term outlooks for equities,” said Oanda’s Edward Moya. Among other companies reporting results, Abercrombie & Fitch slid 28.6 per cent while AutoZone gained 5.8 per cent. AFP