U.S. markets ended in the red Thursday as a sharp decline in energy stocks pushed the broader market lower but recovered from earlier losses and closed off the lowest levels of the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 75.05 points, or 0.3%, at 24,811.75, but had been down by as many as 280.91 points, or 1.1%, dragged by losses in Exxon Mobile Corp. and Chevron Corp. The S&P 500 fell 5.53 points, or 0.2% to 2,727.76, with seven of the 11 main sectors closing lower.
European stocks also finished lower and erased the day’s earlier gains after President Donald Trump canceled a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, citing “open hostility” from the country. The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.5% to close at 390.54 with the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index dropping 0.9% to 7,716.74. In Turkey, the lira resumed its slide against the Dollar, even after the Turkish central bank on Wednesday intervened to halt the currency’s drop.
US-North Korea summit in suspense
Trump on Thursday announced his withdrawal from what would have been the first-ever meeting between a serving U.S. president and a North Korean leader, scheduled for Singapore on June 12, in a letter to Kim, citing North Korea’s “tremendous anger and open hostility”. However in new developments, North Korea said on Friday that it was still open to talks with the United States, saying it hoped the “Trump formula” could resolve the standoff over its nuclear weapons program.
“We have inwardly highly appreciated President Trump for having made the bold decision, which any other U.S. presidents dared not, and made efforts for such a crucial event as the summit,” North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim KyeGwan said in a statement carried by state media. Trump’s decision came after repeated threats by North Korea to pull out of the summit over what it saw as confrontational remarks by U.S. officials.
Google’s take on GDPR
Alphabet Inc’s Google sought to ease online publisher concerns on Thursday about the effects European data privacy rules going into effect in just a few hours will have on their ad business. The rules threaten fines of as much as 4 percent of company revenues for violations, although attorneys and European Union officials have cautioned there will be a grace period. Google officials described compliance efforts as a work in progress and said the company would release additional tools to assist publishers in June and August, according to a person with direct knowledge of the discussion.
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the biggest overhaul of data privacy laws in over 20 years, organizations must have transparent justification for processing personal data, starting Friday 25th May. The new rules require that they have specific justification, such as consent, for using personal information and Internet companies that track users online, whether for shopping, banking or other reasons, are set to face significant scrutiny.
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