Global stock markets continued their slide Monday as waning optimism about a stronger economic turnaround continued to weigh on sentiments.Investors remained in risk-averse mode and sold stocks across the board.In Asia, the Nikkei 225 stock average recorded its ninth straight loss, tumbling 236.95 points or 2.6% to 9,050.33.The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong plunged 453.79 points, or 2.6%, to 17,254.63 and South Korea’s Kospi shed 50 points, or 3.5%, to 1,378.12.
On Friday, US stocks registered their fourth-straight week of declines as a dip in consumer confidence and Chevron’s (NYSE:CVX) bleak profit outlook highlighted concerns about the health of the global economy.The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 37 points, or 0.4%. Tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 3 points or 0.2% and the S&P 500 index eased 3 points or 0.4%.Volume remained light with only 922 million shares trading and advancing issues ahead of decliners by a narrow margin.For the week, the Dow slipped 1.6%, the S&P 500 fell 1.9% and the Nasdaq declined 2.3%.
Although Alcoa (NYSE:AA) launched second-quarter earnings season with a smaller-than-expected loss, Chevron’s (NYSE:CVX) profit warning heightened concerns about second-quarter earnings and investors sold off stocks.Crude prices continued their decline, remaining near $60 level.Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) slid 4.9%.
Among the S&P 500 industry groups, telecom companies were the worst performers.AT&T (NYSE:T) fell 4.7% to $23.44, and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) declined 5.2% to $28.62 after Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. cut profit estimates for these companies, citing declining revenue from corporate customers.Technology stocks got a boost after Goldman Sachs upgraded the U.S. hardware and software sectors to “attractive” from “neutral,” citing potential growth in demand from businesses.Goldman (NYSE:GS) also raised its price target on Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) to $160 from $145.Apple rose 1.6% to $138.52.
Among the financials, results are expected from Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C) and JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM).Analysts expected Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to report second-quarter profit of more than $2 billion on strength in the firms’ bond, currency and commodity trading operations.Among the technology companies due to report their earnings are: Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and IBM (NYSE:IBM).Also among the key companies reporting this week are: Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), General Electric (NYSE:GE), CSX (NYSE:CSX), and Abbott Labs (NYSE:ABT). S&P500 second quarter earnings are projected to have declined 35% in the quarter, compared with a 33% first quarter drop.
