GLOBAL equity markets edged lower yesterday and were set for a weekly decline, as continued profit-taking drove a selloff in technology and chip stocks, while crude oil prices slumped as more tankers left the Strait of Hormuz.
On Wall Street, all three indexes were trading higher in choppy trading as gains in healthcare and consumer discretionary stocks offset losses in industrials, technology and energy.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, however, were on track for a weekly loss while the Dow was headed for a weekly gain.
Chip stocks were down 4.5 per cent and were set to shed 7pc for the week – the largest weekly decline since March.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.31pc, the S&P 500 gained 0.28pc and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.24pc.
“It’s a combination of a needed and healthy period of consolidation following the historic run since March and a dramatic rotation from tech and everything else,” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide.
“Overall, the selloff is modest when put in context, and I expect we resume higher once this period of consolidation concludes since investors still have a buy-the-dip mentality and fundamentals remain solid.” Price hikes announced by Apple had fuelled worries about structural inflation from massive spending by AI giants and limited availability of key tech components.
European stocks fell nearly 0.9pc, with technology stocks shedding 1.54pc.
Yesterday, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 3pc, bringing its weekly loss to 4.4pc, as investors took profits from a 23pc quarterly gain, the best since 2009. It was down 2.8pc for the month.
Japan’s Nikkei slumped 4.2pc and was headed for a weekly drop of 2.7pc. It has climbed 4.5pc for the month and surged 35pc for the quarter, the biggest quarterly gain in its history.
South Korea’s KOSPI was last down 5.8pc, after slumping as far as 8pc earlier to triggering a circuit breaker. It was down 7pc for the week, but still managed a monstrous 66pc gain for the quarter, the best since 1998.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.7pc, but it was down 8.5pc for the quarter, marking the third straight quarter of declines to be an outlier in the region.
Crude prices plunged on easing supply concerns as more oil tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz, even though a cargo vessel was hit near Oman on Thursday.
Brent crude futures fell 4.24pc to $72.07 per barrel.
In bonds, benchmark Treasury yields were lower in Europe and the US The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes fell 1.75 basis points to 4.375pc while the yield on the benchmark German 10-year Bunds fell 0.76 basis points to 2.852pc.
Spot gold rose 1.5pc to $4,086.29 an ounce.
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