By Joe Wallace and Vicky Ge Huang
After Donald Trump's victory last week, investors in Europe feared that tariffs would thump the continent's economy and U.S. foreign policy would endanger its security. They didn't factor in another risk: Robert F. Kennedy.
Shares of major European drugmakers, including GSK and AstraZeneca, fell Friday after Trump nominated the vaccine-skeptic to be health and human services secretary. Their decline weighed on the broader Stoxx Europe 600 index, which counts healthcare as its biggest sector.
Also weighing on U.S. and global markets: Signals from senior Federal Reserve officials that a rate cut in December isn't a done deal. Meanwhile, new data showed two months of surprisingly robust growth in retail sales, adding to evidence of U.S. economic strength.
Major U.S. stock indexes, all near record highs, look poised to end the week on a downbeat note.
In recent trading:
Major stock indexes fell, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite down the most.
Treasury yields were little changed. Interest-rate-sensitive two-year yields rose Thursday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the solid economy would allow the central bank to take its time in deciding how quickly to loosen policy further.
Bitcoin prices traded around $90,000. They struck a new record above $93,000 earlier this week.
The WSJ Dollar Index slipped, after settling Thursday at a two-year high.
Global stock markets were broadly lower. Mainland Chinese stocks fell after mixed economic data from the world's second-largest economy. Pharma and tech shares weighed on the Stoxx Europe 600.
Write to Joe Wallace at joe.wallace@wsj.com and Vicky Ge Huang at vicky.huang@wsj.com
This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 15, 2024 09:41 ET (14:41 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
