Wall Street lower on US-North Korea tensions

A man watches a television screen showing U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Train Station on Thursday.

The Swiss franc on Wednesday held near the day’s highs after posting its biggest single-day rise against the euro since the central bank removed its cap on the currency in January 2015.

So far it’s just been a war of words between the USA and North Korea so the rally has just been a normal reaction to the possibility of a geopolitical event.

Weakness in oil prices continued for the third day as concerns persist over OPEC cuts. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 84 points, or 0.4 percent, to 22,000.

North Korea responded hours later, saying it was considering a missile strike on the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam. Japan and South Korea vowed a strong reaction if the North were to go through with the plan. The number of people who applied for USA unemployment-insurance benefits rose by 3,000 to 244,000 in the week that ended August 5, the Labor Department reported. Netflix was down 2.35 percent.

Disappointing earnings also helped pull the market lower Wednesday.

Equity markets had traded with a soft tone in Europe and there was a sharp increase in selling pressure in NY with the S&P 500 index declining by close to 1.0%.

Jobless claims increased to 244,000 in the latest week, although continuing claims declined.

The biggest fallers were G4S down 24.7p to 305.9p, Standard Chartered down 20.9p to 783.1p, Prudential down 44p to 1,841.5p, Shire down 92p to 3,945p.

Biotech companies Celgene and Amgen lost 3.8 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.

Traders snapped up shares in companies that delivered strong quarterly results. The stock fell 85 cents to $12.76.

German bond yields fell, gold and the Japanese yen surged and the leveraged bets on higher yielding currencies such as the Australian dollar took a beating.

Benchmark US 10-year notes rose 9/32 in price to yield 2.2494 per cent, from 2.282 per cent late on Tuesday.

Also rising was oil and gas services company Amec Foster Wheeler as pre-tax swung to a profit of £77m from a loss of £446m a year earlier, though.

The CBOE Volatility Index, a barometer of expected near-term stock market volatility, closed at its highest since the election. It added 39 cents to $49.56 a barrel on Wednesday.

South Korea’s KOSPI fell 1.8 percent to a 9 1/2-week low, taking its losses this week to almost 2.7 percent. Economists had expected another 0.1 percent uptick. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals led the pack, adding $4.47, or 1 percent, to $474.15.

For traders who think the standoff between the U.S. and North Korea will worsen before it gets better there are several currency alternatives, including the Japanese Yen and the Swiss Franc. The kiwi is likely to find support near 1.62 against the euro and 1.09 against the aussie.

Markets were also lower in Europe and Asia.

In European markets, the French CAC 40 was down 0.7% and Frankfurt’s DAX 30 shed 1.2%. It is poised to end the week down 1.7 percent. Copper lost 0.39 per cent to US$6,455.00 a tonne. It was down 0.2 percent at 108.96 yen, after retreating 0.7 percent on Thursday.