LONDON: Wall Street dropped in early deals on Tuesday, extending the previous session’s losses, while London and Tokyo rose in quiet trading as public holidays around the globe caused most world indices to close.
US stocks sagged ahead of Apple earnings and a Federal Reserve meeting that will update the central bank’s views on the speed of planned interest rate hikes.
Wall Street had ended lower Monday on worries about US policies on Iran and trade.
On Tuesday in London, investors reacted to data showing that Britain’s manufacturing sector dropped to a 17-month low point in April.
The Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed a reading of 53.9, down on March’s level of 54.9.
The data weighed on sterling, as prospects for a May interest rate hike from the Bank of England receded further, analysts said.
The pound’s weakness though provided support to London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index, owing to the fact that it includes a number of heavyweight companies earning in dollars.
Earlier on Tuesday, Tokyo’s Nikkei closed higher in quiet trade during Japan’s Golden Week holiday period, as investors took to the sidelines ahead of key earnings and economic data in the US.
Elsewhere, oil prices slid as investors kept watch on developments in the Middle East.
Crude futures had earlier risen in Asian trading hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had fresh evidence that Iran is continuing with a nuclear weapons programme.
Netanyahu’s presentation on Iran’s nuclear programme “underlines the importance” of the controls imposed on Tehran in the 2015 deal, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Tuesday.
With US President Donald Trump weighing up whether to stay in the deal, Johnson insisted that the agreement was not “based on trust about Iran’s intentions” — the core of Netanyahu’s claims — “rather it is based on tough verification” by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
In company activity Tuesday, Apple shares gained 0.2 percent ahead of its earnings, which will be released after the stock market closes.
Some analysts expect disappointing iPhone sales to be offset by new announcements on shareholder buybacks or dividends.
Sony shares earlier tumbled six percent after the electronics giant reported profits worth $4.5 billion (2.9 billion euros) but forecast a moderate slowdown.
Japanese telecoms giant SoftBank closed up 0.65 percent after its US subsidiary Sprint on Monday said it would form a new company with T-Mobile, a division of Germany’s Deutsche Telecom.
BP was up 1.8 percent at 547.40 pence in London afternoon deals after the British energy major said first-quarter net profits soared 70 percent on rising crude oil prices and increasing output.
Source: Brecorder
