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Category: Stockmarket / Markets / Currency / Futures

US stocks slip on Trump pharmaceuticals tweet

Wednesday, 8 Mar 2017 06:23:34 | Lucia Stein

Wall Street's major indices fell on a negative lead from pharma and banks. (Chip East: Reuters)

Markets in the United States edged lower overnight, with pharmaceutical and bank stocks among the worst performers in the session.

Markets at 8:15am (AEDT):

  • ASX SPI 200 futures -0.3pc to 5,735
  • AUD: 75.88 US cents, 62.16 British pence, 86.51 Japanese yen, 71.77 euro cents, $NZ1.09
  • US: S&P 500 -0.37pc to 2,366, Dow Jones -0.15pc to 20,923, Nasdaq -0.34pc to 5,829
  • Europe: Euro Stoxx -0.13pc to 360.71, FTSE -0.15pc to 7,338, DAX +0.1pc to 11,966
  • Commodities: Gold -0.8pc to $US1,215.72/ounce, Brent crude -0.6pc to $US55.63/barrel

The fall in pharmaceutical stocks came after US President Donald Trump tweeted that he was working on a way to drop prices for medicines, without providing any detail on the plan.

External Link: Donald Trump tweet on drug prices

The President has also backed a draft bill to repeal and replace the Obamacare healthcare law but said it was still open to negotiation.

Economic data was mute, according to one analyst note, with the most significant news being the US January Trade Deficit which increased to $48.5 billion.

"Although at a near five year high it was as expected," NAB economist Tapas Strickland said.

"If repeated in February and March, net exports would likely detract from US growth.

"The outcome is also likely to give further currency to protectionist policies, where Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro indicated the US would make a reduction in the trade deficit its top policy focus, noting that the US faced a growing economic and potential national security risk from major trading partners."

Shares in Snap, the owner of Snapchat, fell after analysts raised concerns about the company's potential for more volatility.

There are concerns that Snap's investors would no longer be able to stabilise its shares if they fell below the $17 IPO price, after the company's underwriters exercised an over-allotment option to buy additional shares.

There were only slight movements in currencies, equities and commodities overnight as well.

European shares generally fell after Mr Trump's tweet hit international drug makers and were also weighed down by some disappointing company results.

Locally, the market is on track for a weak start with the ASX SPI 200 down 0.3 per cent to 5,736.

At the same time, the Australian dollar was worth $US75.84.

West Texas crude oil was slightly lower at $US52.75 a barrel.

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