US equity markets stumbled into the weekend, with fresh inflation fears sending both the dollar and Treasury yields higher and some renewed selling in the technology sector overshadowed what has been a solid March quarter corporate earnings season thus far - Dow down -202-points or -0.82% The broader S&P500 fell -0.85%, with 10 of the 11 primary sectors closing lower (led by Consumer Staples down -1.7% and Technology -1.4%). The technology-centric NASDAQ lost -1.27%. Apple (down -4.1%) fell for a third straight day, with Morgan Stanley cutting their projections for iPhone shipments by -6M for the current quarter a day after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (down -6.3%) - Apple's main chip supplier - guided to current quarter sales ~US$1B below consensus analyst estimates. Apple is slated to post second quarter numbers on 1 May. Elsewhere, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin revealed he is considering a visit to China, in a move that could help defuse rising trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. China's commerce ministry website stated that “The Chinese side has received information that the US side hopes to come to Beijing to discuss economic and trade issues. China welcomes this.” For the week, the Dow rose +0.42%, S&P500 +0.52% and the Nasdaq +0.56%.
