Nov 28 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Monday after protests in major Chinese cities over strict COVID-19 policies sparked concerns over economic growth, while Apple Inc (AAPL.O ) slipped on concerns about a major hit to iPhone production.
Shares of the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant fell 2.6% and weighed heavily on the benchmark S&P 500 index (.SPX) as worker unrest at the country’s biggest iPhone factory world in China have stoked fears of a bigger blow to the already limited production of high-end devices. Telephone (s.
Rare protests in major Chinese cities over the weekend against the country’s strict zero-COVID restrictions are heightening concerns about the growth of the world’s second-largest economy.
“These protests are just proof that this is kind of a moving target where will China continue to try to really limit the spread of COVID?” said Tom Hainlin, national investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis.
“Or will they have more of a ‘living with COVID’ approach that we’ve seen in the US and other countries?”
“We believe COVID itself and China politics are one of the key variables for 2023 that would influence stock prices and investors,” Hainlin said.
All 11 S&P 500 sector indices fell, led by real estate (.SPLRCR), down 2.81%, and a 2.74% loss in energy (.SPNY).
U.S. shares of Pinduoduo Inc (PDD.O) jumped 12.6% after the Chinese e-commerce platform beat third-quarter revenue estimates, helped by COVID-related lockdowns in the country that have forced consumers to shop online. US shares of other Chinese tech companies also rose, with Baidu (9888.HK) and Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) each gaining more than 2%.
The S&P 500 fell 1.54% to end the session at 3,963.95 points.
[1/2] Raindrops hang from a sign for Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan in New York, New York, U.S., October 26, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo/File Photo
The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) fell 1.58% to 11,049.50 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 1.45% to 33,849.46 points.
With two trading days remaining in November, the S&P 500 is on track for a 2.4% gain for the month.
Shares of Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) rose 0.6% after an industry report estimated spending during Cyber Monday, the biggest shopping day in line in the United States, would reach up to 11.6 billion dollars.
Trading was mixed in other growth heavyweight stocks, including Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Meta Platforms Inc (META.O), Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) and Tesla Inc (TSLA.O).
Biogen Inc (BIIB.O) fell following a report of deaths during a clinical study of its experimental drug for Alzheimer’s disease.
Shares of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related companies Coinbase Global Inc (COIN.O), Riot Blockchain Inc (RIOT.O) and Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (MARA.O) each fell about 4% after lender BlockFi’s bankruptcy filing, the latest victim since FTX’s collapse earlier this month.
This week, investors will be keeping a close eye on November US consumer confidence data, due Tuesday; the government’s second estimate for third-quarter gross domestic product, due Wednesday; and November nonfarm payrolls due Friday.
Falling stocks outnumbered rising stocks in the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX) by a ratio of 12.2 to one.
The S&P 500 posted 12 new highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 93 new highs and 174 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 9.3 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 11.3 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.
Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru and Noel Randewich in Oakland, California; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Anil D’Silva and Richard Chang
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