Shares Fall as Health-Care Sector Loses Ground -- Update
August 25 2016 - 5:51AM
Dow Jones News
By Riva Gold
Stocks and the dollar mostly drifted lower, with market
attention focused on the Federal Reserve's annual Jackson Hole
meeting, set to start later Thursday.
Chairwoman Janet Yellen is due to give a speech on Friday, and
while little direction on interest rates is expected, investors
will be watching for any clues on the course of monetary policy or
her assessment of the U.S. economy ahead of September's FOMC
meeting.
Futures pointed to a 0.2% opening loss for the S&P 500,
following modest declines in Europe and Asia.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 1.1% late morning. Health-care
shares fell after political pressure to tamp down drug prices
pushed biotechnology stocks lower in the U.S. Democratic
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had issued a statement
calling EpiPen price increases "outrageous," sparking a modest
selloff Wednesday on Wall Street.
Shares of Shire PLC were down 4.1%, while Novartis AG was down
2% and Roche Holding was off 1.8%.
Adding to the downbeat tone in Europe, Germany's Ifo index, a
key indicator of the economy, fell sharply in August, disappointing
expectations for a slight increase. Germany's DAX index shed
1.3%.
Trading in Asia was mostly softer. Shares in Shanghai were down
0.6%, even as China's central bank put more cash into the system
through 14-day reverse repurchase agreements, which are effectively
loans to commercial banks.
Australia's S&P ASX 200 fell 0.4% following recent declines
in commodities prices.
Brent crude oil was down 0.2% at $48.94 a barrel, dropping for
three of the past four sessions. Gold was flat at $1,329 an
ounce.
Shen Hong contributed to this article.
Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 25, 2016 05:36 ET (09:36 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Roche (QX) (USOTC:RHHBY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Roche (QX) (USOTC:RHHBY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024