US stocks drop as dollar weighs on results; Europe shares slip

24/04/2015 11:53 AST

US stocks fell as investors assessed the dollar’s impact on corporate results from companies including 3M Co. and Procter & Gamble Co. European equities slid with industrial metals amid weaker-than-forecast manufacturing from China and Germany.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.2 per cent at 9:31am in New York after closing at 0.5 per cent below a record. P&G and 3M slumped more than 1.9 per cent as the dollar crimped overseas sales. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.6 per cent. Chinese shares in Hong Kong declined for the first time in three days. Aluminium dropped the most in two months.

US equity indexes have stalled short of all-time highs as the strong dollar weighs on overseas sales even as earnings from large companies top estimates. Treasuries pared gains after US jobless claims held below 300,000 for the seventh straight week. Slower growth in euro-area manufacturing and a decline in Chinese factory data signalled Asian stimulus measures and European Central Bank bond purchases have yet to take hold.

“Underlying revenues remain disappointing as they’re not helped by the ever stronger US dollar,” said Lex Van Dam, a fund manager at Hampstead Capital LLP in London. “The rest of the world is doing its best to provide liquidity but consumer demand remains disappointing. The stock market is reflecting a lack of investment alternatives as opposed to a booming economy.”

Earnings scorecard

Of the S&P500 members that have already released results this week, 76 per cent beat profit projections, while just 49 per cent topped sales estimates. Microsoft Corp., Google Inc., Starbucks Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. report after the market closes today.

Investors looking to earnings for clues on the strength of corporate America have gotten a mixed picture. Facebook Inc. slid after missing revenue estimates for the first time since 2012. Caterpillar Inc. jumped as its 2015 forecast topped analysts’ estimates. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. reported its first loss since the global financial crisis.

General Motors Co. slid and 3M Co., the maker of Post-it notes and Scotch tape, fell after their earnings trailed projections. eBay Inc. jumped after saying profit growth was recovering amid cost cuts.

The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.1 per cent after Wednesday climbing to its highest level since 2000, with a rally led by social-media companies.

Europe Data

Treasuries halted a three-day decline as signs economic growth is slowing in China and Europe boosted demand for the safest assets. The benchmark US 10-year yield fell one basis point to 1.97 per cent.

A Purchasing Managers Index for manufacturing and services fell to 53.5 from 54 in March, London-based Markit Economics said Thursday. While the reading remains well above the 50-point mark that divides expansion from contraction, it is below the 54.4 forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey.

“This serves as a gentle reminder that although Draghi is pumping money into the economy, it will take a bit of time to feed through,” said Ben Kumar, who helps oversee about $12 billion at Seven Investment Management in London. “Earnings expectations had gone a bit far — consumers have not had enough time to feel the recovery and drive corporate profits.”

Ericsson AB led European technology shares lower after the network-equipment maker’s profitability missed analysts’ estimates amid a slowdown in spending by North American operators. The stock tumbled 13 per cent. Nokia Oyj lost 2.5 per cent and Alcatel-Lucent SA fell 2.9 per cent.

Bloomberg