US: Stocks skid again in Brexit selloff

[NEW YORK] US stocks fell sharply for the second session in a row Monday as global financial markets continued to reel from Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

Losses were fairly broad-based, but especially hard-hit sectors included banks, travel and technology stocks. Energy and materials stocks also retreated as commodity prices tumbled.

"At this point, we know the implications of Brexit are negative for global markets, but absent a full understanding of what the exit will look like, markets are embracing a risk-off mentality and you're seeing that play out across the globe," said David Levy, portfolio manager at Republic Wealth Advisors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.5 per cent at 17,140.24.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.8 per cent to 2,000.54, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 2.4 per cent to 4,594.44.

Bank of America sank 6.3 per cent and JPMorgan Chase 3.3 per cent. The Brexit is expected to force large US banks to make costly changes to their European operations, which have been headquartered in London.

Shares of larger technology companies were under pressure, with Microsoft and Facebook both losing 2.8 per cent and Netflix 3.5 per cent. Apple fell 1.4 per cent.

Boeing lost 3.0 per cent, Caterpillar 2.3 per cent and General Motors 3.0 per cent on expectations that the Brexit will curb global economic growth.

Priceline fell 3.7 per cent, American Airlines 6.6 per cent and Marriott International 4.2 per cent, with analysts pointing to potential hits to corporate travel due to uncertainty over business investment in Europe.

Petroleum-linked shares tumbled on lower oil prices, with Apache falling 5.2 per cent, Halliburton 4.6 per cent and Schlumberger 2.1 per cent.

AFP

For more coverage of the EU referendum, visit bt.sg/BrexiT