New York (AFP) – Shares in US film studios slid on Monday following a threat by US President Donald Trump to impose 100 percent tariffs on foreign-made productions. Meanwhile, oil prices tumbled after OPEC+ countries announced an output hike despite oversupply concerns and growing fears that Trump’s trade war could weaken demand. Globally, stock markets were mixed in holiday-thinned trading ahead of central bank decisions on interest rates later in the week. Wall Street indices finished a choppy session lower, with the S&P 500 losing 0.6 percent to snap a nine-day streak of gains.
US stocks are coming off two strong weeks, with gains last Friday driven by strong jobs data and improving sentiment about US-China trade talks. Monday’s retreat “was indicative of consolidation after the market’s solid run off April lows,” said Briefing.com, which pointed to “ongoing resilience” that limited Monday’s losses. Shares in entertainment firms slid after Trump said Sunday he was ordering new tariffs on all films made outside the United States, claiming Hollywood was being “devastated” by a trend of US filmmakers and studios working abroad.
Lionsgate Studios dropped five percent, while Netflix, whose foreign productions for its subsidiaries have often become popular globally, saw its shares fall around two percent. Disney, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery also retreated. Shares in Berkshire Hathaway fell around five percent after influential investor Warren Buffett said Saturday that he would retire from leading the firm he built into a conglomerate worth more than $1 trillion.
In Europe, Paris ended lower while Frankfurt climbed as Germany’s conservatives and center-left Social Democrats reached a coalition deal for governing. London was closed for a public holiday, as were Tokyo and Hong Kong in Asia. Investors are waiting for interest rate decisions this week, with the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England holding policy meetings on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. “Our US economists expect the Fed to keep rates steady and avoid explicit forward guidance about the policy path ahead,” Deutsche Bank analysts said.
– Brent below $60 per barrel –
Oil prices fell sharply after Saudi Arabia, Russia, and six other members of the OPEC+ oil cartel announced an output increase of 411,000 barrels a day for June, a month after a similar move had already caused prices to fall. Brent’s international benchmark crude fell below $60 per barrel for the first time since 2020 before rebounding somewhat. The price of crude has also been sliding because of fears of a global economic slowdown on the back of Trump’s tariff onslaught.
Analysts were still trying to pinpoint the oil cartel’s motivation. “The weekend news wasn’t a shocker but the reasons behind the move remain uncertain,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. “The official communication says the group is bringing barrels back to the market because ‘fundamentals are healthy and inventories are low,'” Ozkardeskaya said. “Yet global growth expectations have been crumbling due to a heated trade war between the US and the rest of the world, and rising output only worsens oversupply concerns,” said Ozkardeskaya.
– Key figures at around 2050 GMT –
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.0 percent at $57.13 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.7 percent at $60.23 per barrel
New York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 41,218.83 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.6 percent at 5,650.38 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 17,844.24 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,727.93 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.1 percent at 23,344.54 (close)
London – FTSE 100: closed for holiday
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: closed for holiday
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: closed for holiday
Shanghai – Composite: closed for holiday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1319 from $1.1297 on Friday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3296 from $1.3270
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.72 yen from 144.92
Euro/pound: UP at 85.10 pence from 84.10
burs-jmb/bjt
© 2024 AFP
