SQUAWK BOX, FRIDAY 20TH AUGUST, 2021

U.S. indices manage to reclaim losses to close broadly flat but in Asia the sell-off continues. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sinks to a nine-month low while the Nikkei hits its worst levels since January. The world’s largest semi-conductor equipment manufacturer, Applied Materials, reports record Q2 results as Intel’s and Cisco’s CEOs tell CNBC that supply chain shortages will remain for the foreseeable future. Chinese authorities pass one of the world’s strictest data privacy laws in a bid to tackle data theft and online fraud. In retail news, Morrisons supermarket accepts a renewed $7bn takeover bid from private equity firm CD&R, rejecting the previous offer from Softbank-owned Fortress.