Morgans AM: Tuesday 4 June 2019

Morgans Financial Limited

US equity markets opened the new month on the back foot, with the technology complex under particular pressure amid reports that the US government is planning to target a host of big companies in the industry with antitrust and business practice probes - Dow inched +5-points higher The S&P500 eased -0.28%, with Communications Services (down -2.79%, the sector's biggest one-day drop since late October), Information Technology (-1.76%) and Consumer Discretionary (-1.18%) the only three primary sectors to close in the red dragging the broader index lower. FedEx Corp fell -1.26% towards a three year low following a weekend report that China is conducting a regulatory investigation after the company diverted packages sent by China-based network equipment giant Huawei to FedEx’s headquarters in Memphis, rather than being delivered to Huawei offices in Asia. The technology-centric NASDAQ slumped -1.61% (to 7,333.02) and entered official correction territory, closing more than >10% below its 29 April closing high (8,161.85) . Alphabet Inc fell -6.11% amid reports that the Justice Department is preparing to launch an antitrust probe on Google. Facebook Inc dropped -7.51% after The Wall Street Journal reported the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would be able to look into Facebook’s practices. Amazon.com Inc fell -4.64% after The Washington Post said an arrangement between the FTC and the Justice Department put the e-commerce giant under the FTC’s microscope. Apple Inc also slipped 1.01% after Reuters reported the Justice Department received jurisdiction to investigate the company’s practices. In the latest developments in the China-US trade dispute, China’s Defence Minister Wei Fenghe cautioned that the US couldn’t interfere in security disputes concerning the South China Sea and Taiwan. Beijing also released an official statement blaming the US for backtracking on trade negotiations. Elsewhere, The New York Times also reported that President Trump contemplated - but later decided against - imposing tariffs on Australia over aluminum imports into the US The Trump administration announced last Friday (31 May) that it is taking away India’s status as a developing country, opening it up to tariffs on billions of its imports.