US stocks sip in afternoon trade; British vote remains focus

Specialist Frank Masiello, left, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, June 17, 2016. Stocks are opening slightly lower on Wall Street, with the biggest losses coming in technology and health care companies

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks moved lower on Friday, erasing all of the previous day’s gains, as investors continued to monitor Britain’s frenzied debate on whether to leave the European Union. The debate took on a new level of concern after the killing of a member of parliament.

Technology stocks were among the biggest decliners, as shares of Apple fell on news reports that it might have to suspend selling its iPhone in China, the world’s second-largest economy.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 50 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,683 as of 1:50 p.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost six points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,069 and the Nasdaq composite fell 34 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,811.

BRITAIN FOCUS: Investors’ focus has increasingly turned to Britain’s vote next week on whether to leave the EU. The campaigning has become extremely heated this week after the killing of a British politician in favor of staying in the EU. The vote will be held June 23.

Investors interpreted the assassination as something that could sway more voters to stay in the EU. U.K. and European stocks and the British pound rose against the euro and dollar. The pound traded at $1.4336 compared with $1.4205 the day before.

Germany’s DAX index rose 0.8 percent, France’s CAC-40 rose 1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index rose 1.2 percent.

ANALYST TAKE: “This tragic event may have dampened the ‘leave’ campaign’s momentum somewhat,” said Daniel Vernazza, analyst at UniCredit bank. He noted the movement in the pound was the most significant indicator that investors believe this would be positive for the ‘remain’ campaign.

APPLE WOES: Technology giant Apple fell $1.64, or 2 percent, to $95.90 after Chinese officials ruled that Apple infringed on a patent of a major competitor, which could cause iPhone sales to be suspended in the country.

BEAUTIFUL MERGER: Elizabeth Arden shares rose $4.54, or 49 percent, to $13.85 after hair and makeup company Revlon said it would buy the company for $14 a share, or $419.3 million.

IN THE CLOUDS: Software company Oracle rose $1.16, or 3 percent, to $39.79 after the company reported earnings that beat analysts’ expectations.

OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude added $1.32 to $47.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained $1.52 to $48.71 a barrel in London.

BONDS, CURRENCIES: U.S. government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.62 percent from 1.58 percent a day earlier. In other currency trading, the dollar fell to 104.22 yen from 104.31 yen while the euro gained slightly to $1.1277 from $1.1236.

METALS: The price of gold slipped $3.60 to $1,294.80 an ounce, silver lost 20 cents to $17.41 an ounce and copper was little changed at $2.05 a pound.

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