Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 79 points
The Dow fell 79 points, or 0.29%, to 26,891.12. The S&P 500 slid 0.24% to close at 2,977.62. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.6% to 8,030.66. Thursday’s meandering came as investors grappled with worries over U.S.-China trade relations and the mounting pressure by Democrats to impeach President Donald Trump. The S&P 500 is on pace for its second-straight weekly drop, down 0.4% this week.
Trade, impeachment fears take the air out of the market
Stocks fell because a Bloomberg News report said the U.S. is not likely to renew waivers for U.S. companies to sell supplies to Chinese telecom giant Huawei. The report, which cites an official, raised concern that both countries could struggle to reach a trade deal when they meet in Washington next month.
Meanwhile, the release of a whistleblower complaint against Trump added to fears about the possibility of impeachment. In the complaint, the whistleblower said Trump used his office to solicit interference from a foreign country ahead of the 2020 election. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the situation a “cover-up.” This comes a day after the administration released a memo of a call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Big tech stocks get hit again
Shares of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet helped drag down the broader market. Facebook and Amazon slid over 1% while Netflix fell 0.5% and Alphabet declined by 0.29%.