US: Dow down for 8th straight day on trade war worries

[NEW YORK] The Dow fell for an eighth straight session on Thursday on trade war fears, with automakers tumbling following a profit warning from Daimler tied to US-China tariffs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is made up of many companies seen as especially vulnerable to a trade war, dropped 0.8 per cent to 24,461.70.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.6 per cent to 2,749.76, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.9 per cent to 7,712.95.

Automakers fell hard after luxury carmaker Daimler cut its profit forecasts for 2018, blaming new tariffs on cars exported from the United States to China.

The German company has major US plants that export to China. China plans higher levies on the vehicles in retaliation for US tariffs on Chinese goods.

General Motors lost 2.0 per cent, Ford 1.4 per cent and Tesla Motors 4.1 per cent.

The US economy has been seen as stronger than that of its trading partners but the Daimler warning "does raise the issue of a negative effect of the tariff situation on the US economy," said Karl Haeling of LBBW.

Analysts were also perturbed by a big drop in a manufacturing survey by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve that badly undershot expectations.

Online retailers fell after the US Supreme Court decided US states have broad rights to tax online sales of goods and services. Amazon fell 1.1 per cent and eBay dropped 3.2 per cent.

Dow member Intel dropped 2.4 per cent after Brian Krzanich resigned as chief executive over a consensual relationship with an employee that violated a company non-fraternization policy. Chief financial officer Bob Swan will serve as interim chief executive while the company searches for a replacement.

Kroger jumped 9.8 per cent after reporting better-than-expected earnings on a 1.9 per cent rise in comparable store sales in the first quarter.

AFP

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