Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Thursday 12 april 2018
A25

Banks and tech stocks fall; oil rises to 3-year high

By MARLEY JAY U.S. will respond to the re- stock indexes trailed off in
AP Markets Writer cent suspected chemical the afternoon.
NEW YORK (AP) — Compa- attack and Saudi Arabia Simona Mocuta, senior
nies including banks and said it intercepted missiles economist for State Street
technology and health fired by rebels in Yemen. Global Advisors, said it's a
care firms fell Wednesday Fighting in the Middle East challenge for investors to
after U.S. stocks had surged could restrict oil supplies respond to events like pos-
the day before. Oil prices and push prices higher. sible strikes in Syria because
hit a three-year high after The Federal Reserve re- it's not clear what the out-
President Donald trump leased minutes from its comes will be.
tweeted that the U.S. will meeting in March. Some The S&P 500 index fell 14.68
launch missiles at targets in policymakers felt the cen- points, or 0.6 percent, to
Syria. tral bank may have to in- 2,642.19 after it surged
Other than energy com- crease rates more quickly 1.7 percent Tuesday. The
panies, stocks were slightly in response to faster eco- Dow Jones industrial aver-
lower for most of the day. nomic growth and rising age slid 218.55 points, or In this April 5, 2018, photo, a pedestrian passes the New York
Banks slipped along with inflation, and it might have 0.9 percent, to 24,189.45. Stock Exchange.
interest rates while health to focus on slowing the The Nasdaq composite lost
care and technology com- economy to keep inflation 25.27 points, or 0.4 percent, points, or 0.2 percent, to the day before. Germa-
panies gave up some of under control. The market to 7,069.03. But the Rus- 1,546.80, and most of the ny's DAX lost 0.8 percent
the big gains they made didn't react dramatically sell 2000 index of smaller- stocks on the New York and the CAC 40 in France
on Tuesday. Trump said the to that development, but company stocks rose 3.37 Stock Exchange finished dropped 0.6 percent. Brit-
higher. ain's FTSE 100 edged 0.1
Facebook stock continued percent lower. Japan's Nik-
Geneva trade official backs to rise as CEO Mark Zucker- kei 225 stock index lost 0.5
percent and the Kospi in
berg testified before Con-
WTO, says it serves U.S. interests gress for a second day. The South Korea declined 0.3
percent. Hong Kong's Hang
stock surged Tuesday after-
noon at the beginning of Seng climbed 0.6 percent.
Zuckerberg's testimony. It The yield on the 10-year
GENEVA (AP) — The director rose 0.8 percent to $166.32 Treasury note fell to 2.78
of a key multilateral trade Wednesday after a jump percent from 2.80 percent.
agency said Wednesday of 4.5 percent Tuesday, its That put pressure on banks.
that she is worried about biggest gain in two years. When bond yields fall, it
efforts to "exaggerate" the Energy companies rose forces interest rates on
shortcomings of the World as benchmark U.S. crude mortgages and other kinds
Trade Organization and climbed 2 percent to of loans lower, meaning
insisted the trade body $66.82 a barrel in New York. lower profits for banks. The
"serves the U.S.'s interests." Brent crude, used to price dollar dipped to 106.95 yen
Speaking to reporters in international oils, gained from 107.17 yen. The euro
Geneva, International 1.4 percent to $72.06 a hardly budged as it rose to
Trade Centre Executive Di- barrel in London. Oil prices $1.2362 from $1.2361.
rector Arancha Gonzalez jumped more than 3 per- In other commodity trad-
stopped short of directly cent Tuesday as investors ing, gold rose 1 percent to
criticizing President Donald got more optimistic about $1,360 an ounce. Silver also
Trump, who has had harsh a possible resolution to the rose 1 percent to $16.77 an
words for the World Trade In this Nov. 9, 2017, photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and U.S.-China trade spat. ounce.
Organization. The center is Chinese President Xi Jinping prepare to shake their hands after Overseas markets mostly Copper lost 0.6 percent to
a joint press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Bei-
an agency of the WTO and jing. fell following their gains $3.12 a pound.q
the United Nations. Associated Press
But Gonzalez disagreed
with Trump's bid to work trade, by fostering compe- member of the WTO by
around the multilateral sys- tition, could be a "win-win" more than 20 percent."
tem championed by the for countries. China joined in 2001.
WTO by making bilateral Now, she said, "parts of the Amid a yawing U.S. trade
deals with individual coun- world" have the view "that deficit with China, Trump
tries. international trade is win- has led efforts to slap pen-
"I'm ruthless with those that lose at best, if not lose-lose, alties on $150 billion worth
say that we have to throw and this is a fundamental of imports from China —
away the multilateral trad- change." creating fears of a trade
ing system," she said at Trump has said that the war among investors and
the U.N. compound in Ge- WTO is unfair to the United wild swoons in stock mar-
neva. "I worry a lot about States, an idea Gonzalez kets. China has responded
the World Trade Organiza- sought to debunk. with a decision to tax $50
tion, and I worry because "My very clear belief is that billion in U.S. products like
I see a tendency today to the WTO serves the U.S. soybeans and small air-
exaggerate its (faults) and It serves the US interests," craft.
ignore its successes — and I Gonzalez said. "Take a look The two countries — the
think this is not good." at exporters of soya bean world's two biggest econo-
Gonzalez pointed to the in the U.S.: They have in- mies — have taken action
fading of the longtime con- creased exports to China at the WTO to try to resolve
sensus that international since China became a their differences.q