Shares of chipmakers with heavy exposure to China fell, with Caterpillar ( CAT.N ) down 3.6 percent as a slowdown in manufacturing activity in the world’s second-largest economy and a work stoppage in Russia added to logistics woes chain. read more “Chip stocks are really exposed to Asia. Some of them have 70% of their sales, especially chip equipment companies, in that region, so it’s a big deal for them,” said Jack DeGan, chief investment officer at Harbor Advisory. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register The latest geopolitical uncertainty comes at a time when financial markets are struggling to cope with the fallout from the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis in Europe, soaring inflation and tightening economic conditions. “Any kind of geopolitical concern can cause traders who made quite a profit last week to take a little (profit) off the table.” The CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX), also known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, rose to 24.31, its highest level in nearly a week, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index SE (.SOX) fell 1%. At 10:16 am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) was down 301.47 points, or 0.92%, at 32,496.93, the S&P 500 (.SPX) was down 25.27 points, or 0.61%, at 4,093. The Composite (.IXIC) was down 56.02 points, or 0.45%, at 12,312.95. Among individual stocks, DuPont de Nemours ( DD.N ) fell 1.4 percent after the industrial materials maker cut its full-year outlook, while shares of credit rating agency S&P Global Inc ( SPGI.N ) fell 2.6% on low 2022 earnings forecasts. Read more Uber Technologies Inc ( UBER.N ) jumped 14.1% after the ride-hailing company reported positive quarterly cash flow for the first time and forecast upbeat operating profit for the third quarter. read more Pinterest Inc ( PINS.N ) rose 13.3 percent as activist investor Elliott Investment Management became the digital pin-board company’s biggest shareholder. read more Meanwhile, data showed U.S. jobs fell more than expected in June, suggesting labor demand was starting to ease, which could reduce pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates aggressively. read more The US central bank has raised interest rates by 2.25 percentage points this year and has pledged to be data-driven in its approach to future hikes. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 1.90 to 1 on the NYSE and by a ratio of 1.11 to 1 on the Nasdaq. The S&P index hit a new 52-week high and 30 new lows, while the Nasdaq hit 21 new highs and 41 new lows. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Aniruddha Ghosh and Devik Jain in Bengaluru. Edited by Anil D’Silva and Arun Koyyur Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
