By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
Analyst: S&P 500 could be about to start a technical
correction
U.S. stocks were driving sharply lower on Friday as news of
stock market regulation from China helped send shock waves across
global equity markets.
European equities slumped while a futures contracts tied to some
Chinese stocks plunged following a regulatory change.
China's securities regulator tightened rules on margin lending
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-regulators-to-allow-short-selling-by-fund-managers-2015-04-17)while
the country's two stock exchanges said they would make it easier to
short sell stocks in an effort to reign in country's soaring stock
markets.
"This is apparently weighing heavily on Chinese index futures,
which is dragging equities lower across the board. Europe is
getting battered now as well," said Craig Erlam, senior market
analyst OANDA. Futures of H-shares, or Chinese stocks listed in
Hong Kong, fell 4% in after-hours trading.
Worries weighed on stocks Friday morning with the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJI) shedding 169 points, or 0.9%, to 17,935,
and the S&P 500 index (SPX) lost 13 points, or 0.6%, to 2,092,
while the Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) was down 38 points, or 0.8%, to
4,969.
The slide in the opening moments of Friday trading followed
similarly bleak action in stock-index futures before the markets
officially opened.
"What we're seeing right now is a combination of panic and
technical levels being wiped out and exacerbating the move lower,"
Erlam noted, before stocks began trading.
Also affecting global markets was an outage of Bloomberg
terminals. Traders' access to the terminals went down around the
same time Asian markets closed at about 3:15 a.m. Eastern Time. The
company says it is working to restore access to the Bloomberg
Professional service, the company's key product. Read: Bloomberg
Terminal goes down, traders get up to fun
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bloomberg-terminal-goes-down-traders-get-up-to-fun-2015-04-17)
European stocks also slumped on the back of the news from China,
with the Stoxx Europe 600 index off 1.4%.
Stocks closed slightly lower on Thursday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-futures-waver-with-goldman-earnings-fed-speakers-in-focus-2015-04-16),
getting only a brief bump from a handful of Fed members who
suggested a near-term interest-rate hike might be less likely. The
S&P 500 ended 0.5% shy of its all-time close of 2,117.39,
reached March 2.
In economic news, led by higher gasoline prices, consumer prices
rose for the second straight month in March, according to data
reported Friday by the Labor Department. The uptick was mostly in
line with expectations.
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey for April
is coming at 9:55 a.m. Eastern. Leading indicators for March will
hit at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Correction ahead? A technical analyst told CNBC on Friday that
he expects major global benchmarks to begin correcting over the
next month. "I think the correction has started on the DAX, and the
S&P 500 we are probably on the top today," Yacine Kanoun,
managing director at PivotHunters, a U.K.-based portfolio
management company, said Friday
(http://www.cnbc.com/id/102595532).
Kanoun expects the expiration of options contracts on Friday to
kick off a correction, and he expects the S&P 500 to come down
10% from its current peak. He sees the DAX bottoming at 11,650.
Need to Know: When sex isn't selling, it might be time to get
defensive
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/when-sex-isnt-selling-it-might-be-time-to-get-defensive-2015-04-17)
Stocks to Watch: Ahead of the market open, General Electric(GE)
reported a loss for the first quarter, sending the shares down 0.8%
premarket. Shares in Honeywell International Inc.(HON) gained 2.1%
in light premarket trade after the company posted higher profits
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/honeywell-beats-profit-expectations-but-misses-on-sales-and-cuts-outlook-2015-04-17)
and upped its outlook for the year. Reynolds American Inc.(RAI)
reported a rise in profit
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/reynolds-american-beats-profit-sales-estimates-2015-04-17)
for the first quarter that beat estimates.
After Thursday's close, American Express Co.(AXP) posted a 6.5%
gain in profit due to card-member spending. Shares slipped 2.8% in
premarket trade after the payment-card company said
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amex-profit-buoyed-by-card-member-spending-2015-04-16-16485228)its
results were hurt by a stronger dollar.
Mattel Inc
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amex-profit-buoyed-by-card-member-spending-2015-04-16-16485228).(MAT)
shares rose nearly 6.5% premarket after the toy maker posted a
narrower-than-expected loss for the first quarter.
Advanced Micro Systems Inc.(AMD) could get hit in premarket.
Shares fell nearly 9% after the chip maker posted a wider-fiscal
first-quarter loss and weaker revenue.
Schlumberger NV(SLB) shares rose just over 2% in early trade.
The oil-field services company said it would cut 11,000 more jobs
after posting a 39% first-quarter earnings drop.
Other markets: In Asia, the Nikkei 225 posted a 1.2% drop, while
the Shanghai Composite Index surged 2.2%. The dollar remained under
pressure, while gold prices (CLK5) pushed higher.
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