US stock markets closed lower for the fourth straight day, led down by big tech as Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) all fell by more than 1%.
In an about face from Australia, both staples and healthcare sectors also weakened despite the S&P 500 sitting on gains early in the session.
The focus remains on the stuttering global economy and day-to-day flip flop in data.
On Thursday it was a strong jobless claims report, with just 2.78 million on continuing claims, down from 2.8 million, another low since 2020 began.
ECB cuts purchases
Europe looks to be joining the tapering party with the ECB confirming they would be tapering EUR$80 billion in monthly bond purchases sooner rather than later, but offering little in the way of specifics; the UK market falling over 1%.
China remains in the spotlight
Attention remains focused on China, after the government was said to have put additional pressure on Tencent (HKG: 0700) and NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) to reduce their focus on profiting from gaming following a crackdown on the use of popular apps by young children.
US stock market movers
These US stocks were some of the biggest movers overnight.
- Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON) up 9.8%
- Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) up 7.8%
- American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) up 5.6%
- Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR) down 5.0%
- Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) down 6.2%
- Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB) down 6.7%
Despite the negative lead from US stock markets, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is set to open higher on Friday. For all the latest, check out Rask Media’s ASX 200 morning report.
