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Wall Street closes in the red as Turkey's economic woes keeps jittery investors sidelined

Last updated: 16:07 15 Aug 2018 EDT, First published: 13:20 15 Aug 2018 EDT

Wall Street

Wall Street finished with losses across the board on Wednesday, buried in a sea of red from Turkey's financial troubles which kept investors firmly parked on the sidelines.

China also filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization against US solar tariffs. The US dollar was little changed after reaching a 13-month top.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average index lost 137 points, or 0.5% to end at 25,162, led lower by losses in Chevron Corp, Boeing Co and Caterpillar Inc.

The tech-laden Nasdaq was down 1.2% to settle at 7,774.

The S&P 500 declined by 0.7% to close at 2,818, hit by a 16% plunge in shares of retailer Macy’s Inc.

The shares of retailers like Macy's and JC Penney were hammered on Wednesday because investors worried about struggling sales amid declining foot traffic and increased competition online.

The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks also retreated 1.2% to conclude at 1,671.

In Canada, the S&P/TSX fell 1.1% to wound up at 16,148.

1:20 PM: Wall Street in the red as Turkey's economic woes keeps investors on sidelines

Wall Street was bathed in a sea of red at half time as Turkey remained problematic for investors who kept money parked on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, China has registered a complaint to the World Trade Organization to help determine the legality of US tariff and subsidy policies.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average index shed 190.21 points, or 0.76% to hover at 25,107.79, led lower by Chevron Corp, Boeing Co and Caterpillar Inc.

The tech-laden Nasdaq also fared poorly, falling by 98 points, or 1.24% to 7,773, as it was held back by JD.com Inc, Micron Technology Inc and MercadoLibre Inc.

The S&P 500, meanwhile, shed 23.88 points, or 0.84% to 2,815.61, hit by a 14.2% plunge in shares of Macy’s Inc even after the department store operator reported quarterly earnings and sales that topped analysts' expectations and hiked its forecast for the full year. The shares of retailers like Macy's and JC Penney took a thrashing Wednesday because investors are concerned they are struggling to grow sales amid declining foot traffic and increased competition online.

The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks slipped 18.71 points, or 1.1% to 1,673.87.

10:00 AM: US stocks drop sharply as concerns rise about Turkey's economic crisis

US stocks dove Wednesday as the markets were weighed down by the Turkish financial crisis and ongoing trade tensions as well as a sharp fall in tech stocks.

Indeed, markets responded poorly to the news that Turkey doubled tariffs on an array of US goods such as alcohol and tobacco to retaliate against President Donald Trump’s move to introduce higher tariffs on Turkish imports.

Turkey’s banking regulator has also unsettled US indices by limiting the amount of Turkish liras banks can exchange for foreign currencies.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index was in the worst position and shed more than 125 points to hover at 25,173, led lower by Caterpillar, DowDuPont, Chevron, Boeing and 3M, which all boast considerable international exposure.

The tech-laden Nasdaq also fared poorly, falling by 40 points to 7,830, as it was held back by NetEase, JD.com, Western Digital Corp and MercadoLibre.

On a sector-by-sector basis, stocks were being hammered, as technology stocks fell by 0.5%, with Apple, Netflix and Facebook all trading lower, and energy stocks shed 1.5%.

The S&P 500, meanwhile, was down by 19 points at 2,820, hit by a 9.2% drop in shares of Macy’s after the department store chain revealed as part of its second-quarter results that it was having difficulty growing its sales.

Up in Canada, Toronto’s TSX, the country’s main stock index, fell nearly 122 points to 16,208 on the back of energy stock losses while the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks slipped 7 points to 1,685.

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