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Wednesday 6 september BUSINESS
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Banks, technology firms lead US stocks lower Eurozone economy heads for

By ALEX VEIGA percent, to 1,399.66. or 5.8 percent, to $38.27, decade-high growth, UK stalls
AP Business Writer Stocks were coming off while Brighthouse Financial
Escalating tensions on the back-to-back weekly lost $3.41, or 5.9 percent, to By PAN PYLAS U.K. economy would be
Korean peninsula rattled gains as investors returned $54.08. All told, the finan- Associated Press better off unshackled from
nerves on Wall Street Tues- from the Labor Day holiday cial sector fell 2.2 percent LONDON (AP) — While Brit- a region that had battled
day, leading to the stock weekend to heightened Tuesday, the biggest de- ain and the rest of the EU one crisis after another
market’s worst day in al- tensions between the U.S. cliner in the S&P 500. are struggling to agree on for years.While that will be
most three weeks. and North Korea, which Technology companies divorce terms, it’s increas- determined in the longer-
Bank stocks led the slide conducted its most pow- also fell sharply. Qual- ingly clear that on the term, for now it’s clear that
as bond yields slumped. erful nuclear test to date comm lost $2.02, or 3.9 economic front they are Britain’s economy is start-
Technology stocks, the on Sunday, triggering U.S. percent, to $50.03. Nvidia diverging sharply. ing to suffer from the Brexit
biggest gainers this year, warnings of a “massive mili- gave up $4.55, or 2.7 per- In closely watched surveys vote. In the first few months
also pulled the market tary response.” cent, to $165.91. of economic activity, finan- after the vote, it held up
lower. Energy companies On Tuesday, South Korean Gains in crude prices cial information company better than anticipated,
climbed the most as the warships conducted live- helped lift shares in oil pro- IHS Markit said Tuesday that partly because of the
price of crude oil rose. fire exercises at sea. The ducers and other energy the economy of the 19 EU pound’s export-boosting
countries that use the euro 15 percent fall. In a sepa-
is heading for decade-high rate survey, IHS Markit said
growth rates while Britain’s the British economy ap-
is increasingly sluggish — pears increasingly sluggish
largely due to uncertainty as the uncertainty over the
surrounding Brexit. EU exit mounts. In March,
The purchasing managers’ Prime Minister Theresa May
index, a broad gauge of triggered the two-year
economic activity, for the Brexit timetable but discus-
eurozone was unchanged sions between her govern-
at 55.7 points in August. ment and the EU on what
The index is on a 100-point Brexit actually will mean
scale, with anything above have made little apparent
50 indicating expansion. headway.
Though output growth in And that uncertainty over
the third quarter is slightly the Brexit details is weigh-
down on the second quar- ing on the British economy,
ter, the firm said the single as evidenced by the fact
currency bloc is on course that the country is this year
for economic growth of 2.1 the slowest-growing in the
percent this year, its highest Group of Seven developed
since 2007, when the glob- economies.
al financial crisis started to IHS Markit’s survey sug-
Traders Michael Conlon, Peter Tuchman and Gregory Rowe, left to right, work on the floor of the bite. The firm’s chief busi- gested that the slowdown,
New York Stock Exchange. Escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula rattled nerves on Wall ness economist, Chris Wil- particularly in the crucial
Street Tuesday, leading to the stock market’s worst day in almost three weeks. liamson, said the moderate services sector, could be
(AP Photo/Richard Drew)
growth slowdown from the getting more marked.
Traders also bid up shares U.N. Security Council held industry companies. Hel- second quarter is no cause It said the pace of growth
in traditional safe-haven an emergency meeting merich & Payne rose 75 for alarm given that busi- in the services sector,
investments such as utilities and American Ambassa- cents, or 1.7 percent, to ness orders remain strong. which accounts for around
and gold, which climbed dor Nikki Haley said North $43.77. Halliburton added “There’s good reason to be 80 percent of the Brit-
to the highest level in more Korean leader Kim Jong Un 93 cents, or 2.4 percent, optimistic that the current ish economy, eased to its
than a year. is “begging for war.” to $39.83.Benchmark U.S. spurt growth has further to slowest level since Septem-
“Today the risk-off trade The latest developments crude gained $1.37, or run,” he said. ber last year.Its purchasing
really is North Korea front fueled anxiety in the mar- 2.9 percent, to settle at The scale of the eurozone managers’ index for the
and center,” said Jeff Zip- kets. The VIX, a measure $48.66 a barrel on the recovery this year has sector fell to 53.2 points in
per, managing director of of how much volatility in- New York Mercantile Ex- caught many economists August from 53.8 the previ-
investments at U.S. Bank vestors expect in stocks, change. Brent crude, used by surprise. At the year’s ous month amid signs that
Private Wealth Manage- jumped 20.7 percent to to price international oils, start, many feared that the “Brexit-related uncertainty
ment. “Also you have the 12.23. rose $1.04, or 2 percent, to region, already disturbed continued to undermine
hurricane last week and Gold rose $14.10, or 1.1 close at $53.38 a barrel in by Britain’s vote last year to business confidence.”
the upcoming hurricane, percent, to $1,344.50 an London.Shares in cruise line leave the European Union, In the immediate aftermath
so there’s a lot on the plate ounce. That’s the high- operators fell as Hurricane ongoing concerns over of the June 2016 vote to
for the market to digest.” est price since gold hit Irma roared toward islands the euro and a slew of key leave the European Union,
The Standard & Poor’s 500 $1,348.40 an ounce on in the northeast Caribbean elections, would face a dif- the services sector held up.
index slid 18.70 points, or Sept. 27. Tuesday. The Category 5 ficult time. Though uncer- There’s been a raft of evi-
0.8 percent, to 2,457.85. Bond prices also rose. The storm, the most powerful tainty over Brexit remains, dence recently showing a
The Dow Jones industrial yield on the 10-year Trea- seen in the Atlantic in over the Greek crisis seems Brexit hit.
average slumped 234.25 sury note fell to 2.06 per- a decade, was on a path contained and populist “The overall level of opti-
points, or 1.1 percent, to cent from 2.17 percent late that could eventually take politicians failed to make mism also remained sub-
21,753.31. The average Friday. it to the United States. the breakthrough many dued, mainly linked to
had been down more than The slide in bond yields Royal Caribbean Cruises economists feared during Brexit uncertainty, close to
277 points. The Nasdaq weighed on shares in slid $5.20, or 4.2 percent, those elections, notably in levels that have previous-
composite lost 59.76 points, banks and other financial at $119.04, while Carnival France. ly been indicative of the
or 0.9 percent, to 6,375.57. companies. Lower bond declined $2.16, or 3.1 per- One of the main argu- economy stalling or even
The Russell 2000 index of yields push interest rates on cent, to $66.97. Norwegian ments made during last contracting,” Williamson
smaller-company stocks loans lower, hurting banks’ Cruise Line shed $1.85, or year’s Brexit referendum in warned of the latest survey
gave up 13.92 points, or 1 profits. XL Group slid $2.35, 3.2 percent, to $56.69.q Britain was about how the reading.q