Stock exchanges in New York were sharply lower on Friday mid-trading day. Fears that rising corona infections in some US states will hinder the economic recovery have been revived. In the states of Texas and Florida, some easings, such as opening cafes, are being reversed. Furthermore, Facebook and Twitter are in the spotlight now that Unilever is no longer advertising on social networks in the US this year.
The Dow-Jones index was 2.3 percent negative at 25,160 points. The broad-based S&P 500 fell 1.8 percent to 3,028 points, and tech exchange Nasdaq lost 1.8 percent to 9,834 points.
Facebook (minus 7.1 percent) and Twitter (minus 7.3 percent) will no longer have to count on the advertising budget of the American branch of Unilever this year. The consumer goods maker believes that social networks are doing “too little to stop polarization and hateful language” on its platforms. Facebook has been the target of a boycott for some time, which included telecom company Verizon.
Furthermore, fashion chain Gap was one of the highlights after a deal with rapper Kanye West’s fashion label Yeezy. In the next ten years, he will design clothes for a special line for Gap. The stock made a price jump of over 23 percent.
Banks are no longer allowed to buy back treasury shares from the Federal Reserve until the end of September after a stress test. While the Fed concluded that financial groups will survive even in the worst crisis scenarios, banks have to be careful with their capital because of uncertainty about economic recovery. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, among others, were put up to 7.3 percent.
Nike lost 6.4 percent. The company had a significantly lower turnover in the past quarter than a year earlier. Sportswear brand stores had to shut down in many parts of the world due to the corona pandemic. A loss of $ 790 million remained below the line.
Online store giant Amazon (minus 0.2 percent) takes over Zoox, which deals with self-driving cars. There was also a positive analyst report on Amazon. According to market experts, the company may well emerge as the big winner from the corona crisis.
The euro was listed at $ 1.1235 against $ 1.1207 at the closing bell. A barrel of American oil became 0.9 percent cheaper at $ 38.38. Brent oil fell 0.5 percent in price to $ 40.84.
Maurice Esma, a co-founder of EconomicInform is a freelance journalist with the expertise in international finance and corporate rights. The author can be reached by email maurice.eisma@economicinform.com
