European stocks snapped a two-day advance, deepening a weekly loss amid mixed US jobs data.
Anxieties about the strength of the global economy and an impending US Federal Reserve rate increase rose to the fore again, wiping out yesterday’s optimism triggered by European Central Bank comments. While US payrolls missed estimates in August, June and July figures were revised higher in today’s report. Unemployment also fell more than forecast, boosting the case for a rate rise. Fed officials next meet on Sept. 16 and Sept. 17.
“Despite the headline miss, I don’t read the release as weak, given the upward prior revisions, accelerating wage growth and hours worked,” said Michael Ingram, a market strategist at BGC Partners in London. “If anything, this increases the chances of September lift off, a view borne out by the strength of the [US] dollar.”
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index tumbled 2.5 percent on Friday at the close of trading. After its worst month since 2011, amid a China-fueled global rout, the European gauge fell for the third week in four.
“Markets are very nervous about the prospects for the world economy and what a Fed rate hike will mean in this context,” said William Hobbs, head of investment strategy at Barclays PLC’s wealth-management unit in London. “Will the US help paper over some of the cracks we are getting from emerging markets?”
Adding to the concern is Germany, where a report showed factory orders fell more than expected in July. The country’s benchmark DAX Index declined 2.7 percent. The gauge’s 50-day moving average has fallen below its 200-day moving average, triggering a bearish technical signal called a “death cross.”
Miners and energy producers fell the most among STOXX 600 groups. BP PLC lost 5 percent after Bank of America Corp downgraded the shares to underperform, similar to sell.
Abengoa SA bucked the trend, advancing 3.3 percent after people familiar with the matter said it is working with financial advisory firm Lazard Ltd to find investors for its planned capital increase.
L’Oreal SA dropped 3.4 percent after saying it expects global cosmetics-market growth at the lower end of its forecast range. Kering SA lost 6.2 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc recommended selling the shares.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG climbed 5 percent after Turkish Airlines said it might strengthen its ties with the German carrier. Neopost SA surged 10 percent after posting an increase in revenue and forecasting an improvement in its mail solutions business. Societe Generale SA and Gilbert Dupont upgraded the shares.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”