US Stocks: Wall Street slides as solid jobs data supports rate hike bets U.S. stock indexes fell on Friday, dragged down by shares of Apple and Tesla, while a solid jobs report supported the view that the Federal Reserve would continue on its aggressive policy tightening path to cool decades-high inflation. Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors declined in early trade, with consumer discretionary losing 2.2% and technology falling 1.6%. The energy sector was an outlier with a gain of 1%. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast nonfarm payrolls to rise by 325,000 jobs. “(This report) gives permission to the Fed to keep going with their rate hikes because the labor market is strong. They can worry more about inflation pressures and less about the labor market,” said Anthony Saglimbene, global market strategist at Ameriprise Financial. “The market is still concerned about wage inflation. Even at 0.3% that is still a very high rate. If wage inflation was lower the market reaction could be more positive.” Volatility has gripped Wall Street in recent weeks due to hawkish comments from Fed officials, even as a recent set of data suggested that inflation may have peaked. The blue-chip Dow has fallen 9% so far this year, the benchmark S&P 500 has lost 13%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq has shed 22.7%, with rate-sensitive growth stocks bearing the brunt of the selloff. “The selloff over the last few weeks could be a floor, but we do not see a lot of rationale for markets to rally materially. We will be within a trading range because the markets are waiting further information,” said Alan McKnight, chief investment officer at Regions Private Wealth. At 10:20 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 161.21 points, or 0.48%, at 33,087.07, the S&P 500 was down 43.57 points, or 1.04%, at 4,133.25, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 207.54 points, or 1.68%, at 12,109.36. Apple Inc slid 3.0%, hit by a bearish brokerage comment and a report that EU countries and lawmakers were set to agree on a common charging port for mobile phones, tablets and headphones on June 7, a proposal that has been fiercely criticized by the iPhone maker. Tesla Inc dropped 7.0% after CEO Elon Musk, in an email to executives seen by Reuters, said he has a “super bad feeling” about the economy and needs to cut about 10% of jobs at the electric carmaker. Micron Technology also fell 7% after Piper Sandler downgraded the memory-chip maker’s stock to “underweight”, citing concerns about its heavy exposure to mobiles and PCs at a time when rising inflation forces consumers to rein in spending. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 3.58-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.79-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 1 new 52-week high and 29 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 18 new highs and 43 new lows.
The launched works involve rehabilitating the Galgamuwa Railway Station and upgrading the railway line from Maho to Anuradhapura, including additional tasks. Another project is the second phase of track rehabilitation from Maho to Omanthai (128 kms), funded by a $318 million Indian Line of Credit.
Transport Minister Gunawardena praised the efforts of Indian company IRCON in Sri Lanka and called for more cooperation in the railway sector. State Minister Shantha Bandara and officials from the Sri Lankan Ministry of Transport attended the event.
Railways is a priority for Indian assistance in Sri Lanka, with over $1 billion invested under five Indian Lines of Credit. IRCON has been involved in Sri Lanks since 2009. It has contributed to the modernisation of Sri Lanka Railways by reconstructing the entire railway line network in the Northern Province (253 Km) and upgradation of the Southern line (115 km), as well as improving safety through advanced signalling and telecommunication systems.
Despite Sri Lanka’s debt standstill in April 2022, India’s support under various Lines of Credit has continued.
(With PTI inputs)