US Market slips on profit booking

The US stock market finished session lower on Wednesday, 19 August 2020, as investors booked recent profit after minutes of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting highlighted the uncertainties facing the economy. Meanwhile, selloff fueled further on escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing after the suspension of a U.S. extradition treaty with Hong Kong.

At closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell 85.19 points, or 0.31%, to 27,692.88. The S&P 500 index dropped 14.93 points, or 0.44%, to 3,374.85. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index declined 64.38 points, or 0.57%, to 11,146.46.

The minutes of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting in July released on Wednesday. The minutes noted that the coronavirus outbreak is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world. The Fed added that economic activity and employment have picked up somewhat in recent months but remain well below their levels at the beginning of the year. The Federal Reserve warned the economic recovery of the U.S. from the coronavirus-induced downturn faced a highly uncertain path. The ongoing public health crisis will weigh heavily on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term, the Fed said.

 

The U.S. suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and ended reciprocal tax treatment on shipping with the former British colony, the latest salvo in escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing. In a statement Wednesday, the US State Department announced Washington would be suspending or eliminating three treaties with the former British colony, including "the surrender of fugitive offenders, the transfer of sentenced persons, and reciprocal tax exemptions on income." The moves are part of the Trump administration's efforts to pressure China over the imposition of a national security law that has led to charges against more than 20 pro-democracy activists. They follow up on an executive order to end preferential trading treatment for the city, which President Donald Trump and his team say was now essentially just another Chinese city.

Among Indian ADR, Wipro fell 0.7% to $4.27, WNS Holdings shed 0.54% to $65.84, INFOSYS dropped 1.39% to $12.80, ICICI Bank shed 1.66% to $10.05, Tata Motors sank 0.72% to $8.33, HDFC Bank was down 0.8% to $47.19, Azure Power Global dropped 3.21% to $22.64, and Dr Reddys Labs declined 2.18% to $59.60. Vedanta added 1.04% to $6.81.

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