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US benchmarks tank and Facebook's daily decline is worst for four years

Last updated: 17:44 19 Mar 2018 GMT, First published: 10:17 19 Mar 2018 GMT

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  • Dow Jones closes down 335 pts

  • Facebook loses US$36bn in value since Friday

  • US crude down

  • Canopy Growth shines onm TSX

 

It looked like it was going to happen and it has.

US benchmarks closed well down on Monday, with the Dow Jones dropping over 335 points at  24,610.

Not helping was social networking behemoth Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), which suffered the biggest daily decline in nearly four years.

The broader based S&P 500 lost over 39 at 2,712.

The Nasdaq shed  over 137 points at 7,344.

US crude (West Texas Intermediate) lost 0.34% to US$62.13 a barrel.

In Toronto, the TSX shed over 122 points at 15,589.

The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Canopy Growth, which rose 3.57%, to C$33.68 while the largest decliner was First Quantum Minerals Ltd (TSE:FM), down 3.07%, to C$20.54.

Meanwhile, Facebook has reportedly lost around US$36bn in market value since Friday (March 16).

Shares crashed 6.77% to US$172.56 on the day, which is the worst slide since March 26, 2014, with that downturn equating to a US$36.4 billion loss in market value.

 

MID-SESSION

The benchmark Dow Jones was tanking at mid-session in New York, down over 445 points at 24,500.

Investors are jittery about a trade war with China and the tech sector is getting hit after the Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) news

The social media giant founded by Marck Zuckerberg is facing criticism following reports that a UK data mining firm working for the Trump election campaign improperly obtained and kept data on tens of millions of users.

Facebook shares are down  6.77% at US$172.56, while other tech giants felt the pain.  Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) shed 2.36% at US$92.36.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) lost 3.75% to US$1,092.40, while Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) shed 1.35% to US$35.09.

David Madden, at CMC Markets, said: "Geopolitical tensions are weighing on US equity markets again.

"Traders remain apprehensive that the US could go down the route of a trade war with China, and the West’s deteriorating relationship with Russia is also souring investor sentiment.

"Even though there haven’t been any developments on these fronts, investors can’t be convinced to start buying back into the market."

In Toronto, the TSX  is down over 160 points at 15,551, while the Canadian dollar nudged up 0.07 cents at 76.43 US cents.

Among the most active stocks were Neovasc Inc (TSE:NVCN), which lost 11.43% to C$0.16, while gold and silver miner   Klondex Mines Ltd (TSE:KDX) rocketed 62.22% to C$2.92 after US  miner Hecla Mining Co said it would buy the company in a US$462 mln cash-and-stock deal.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 is down over 48 at 2,703, while the Nasdaq is off over 173 points at 7,308.

 

OPEN

US benchmarks are seeing red at the start of trade, with the Dow Jones down over 179 points at 24,767.

The broader based S&P 500 is off almost 18 at 2,734, while the Nasdaq is down over 68 points at 7,413.

It’s a key week for market watchers as the new Fed chair (following Janet Yellen) will be center stage this week.

He is Jerome Powell and will chair his first policy meeting in which the Fed will deliberate on its monetary policy and issue an official statement and provide updated forecasts in its quarterly Summary of Projections (SEPs).

German bank Berenberg notes that the US central bank is facing building economic momentum and a host of thorny issues at a time when only three of seven Governors are in place. 

It expects the Fed to:

  •  - Raise its federal funds rate target to 1.5%–1.75%, as is widely expected
  • - Strengthen its economic forecasts by raising its real GDP forecasts for 2018 to 2.7% from 2.5% and for 2019 to 2.3% from 2.1%; it may lower its current unemployment rate forecasts by a tenth.
  • - Raise its core inflation forecast for 2018 to 2.0% from 1.9%.

Back to company news on Monday and  a big loser in New York is Mark Zuckerberg's Face book (NYSE:FB.), which tanked 5.57% to US$174.48 as it struggles over a response to

allegations that UK firm Cambridge Analytica used personal data that had been harvested from the site amid the US Presidential election.

Elsewhere, Newell Brands Inc (NYSE:NWL) has agreed to appoint four directors picked by billionaire investor Carl Icahn to its board.

In a statement on Monday, the consumer products company said Icahn’s designated directors are former 3M Co (NYSE:MMM) chief financial officer, Patrick Campbell, Icahn Enterprises consultant Brett Icahn, Icahn Enterprises general counsel Andrew Langham and Courtney Mather.

Newell shares dropped 3.49% to US$27.66 in early deals.

In Toronto, last week, the S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed over 40 points to close Friday and the week at 15,711.

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