Apple, Philip Morris, chip stocks lead Wall Street slide; financials gain

US stocks dropped on Thursday, weighed down by a broad-based decline in technology stocks from Apple to chipmakers as well as a tumble in consumer staples such as Philip Morris and P&G.
A warning from Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker and an Apple supplier, on soft demand for smartphones and on the semiconductor industry's growth this year sparked a tumble in chip stocks.

Apple's shares also fell 2.3 percent, with analysts telling Reuters that TSMC's warning was related to the iPhone maker. Apple was the biggest drag on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq.

TSMC's US-listed shares fell 6.3 percent. Intel declined 3.1 percent, falling the most on the Dow. All stocks on the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index were in the red, with the index itself tumbling 3.9 percent.

The S&P consumer staples sector declined 3.2 percent as Philip Morris plunged 17.4 percent after the tobacco company's weak results and forecast.

Wall Street's Nasdaq, S&P, Dow Jones post biggest one-day gain in 2-1/2 yrs

Wall Street's three major indexes jumped to their greatest one-day gain in two-and-a-half years on Monday, led by the tech sector, as trade war fears eased on reports that the United States and China were willing to renegotiate tariffs and trade imbalances.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> rose 669.4 points, or 2.84 percent, to 24,202.6, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 70.29 points, or 2.72 percent, to 2,658.55 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 227.88 points, or 3.26 percent, to 7,220.54.

Wall Street climbs as North Korea tension eases, S&P tops with 1.12% rise

Wall Street opened higher on Monday, with broad gains across sectors, as investor sentiment was lifted by easing tensions in the Korean peninsula after key US officials played down the risk of an imminent war with North Korea.

All the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with S&P financial's 1.12 per cent rise leading the gainers.

Global stocks lost nearly $1 trillion last week after President Donald Trump warned North Korea that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States, leading to a war of words between Pyongyang and Washington.

However, US officials including National Security Adviser H R McMaster and CIA Director Mike Pompeo played down the risk on Sunday, while South Korea's president said resolving Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions must be done peacefully.

"Feels as though the North Korean tension seems to be abating a bit, with commentary coming out of China and the United States. But the situation seems to have de-escalated in the near term", said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich
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