The US stocks slumped for a second straight day on Thursday, as global market rout and falling oil prices continued to weigh on Wall Street.
Advertisement
The dismal start to the new year comes as investors worry that China’s huge economy is slowing down.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted to a close of 16514.10, dropping 392.41 from its open. It marked the worst beginning to a trading year since January 2, 2008, when the Dow fell 1.66 percent.
The Dow is down 910.93 points, or 5.2 per cent.
In Asia, China’s shares confirmed indicators of stabilisation, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 1.ninety seven % on Friday, after the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) introduced the inventory market “circuit breaker” mechanism can be suspended. Meanwhile, the Dow futures plunged 250 points during Asian trading, indicating Wall Street would be in for a rough Thursday.
Others think it’s much more like last summer, when turmoil in China prompted a scare in US stocks that proved fleeting.
The early enthusiasm came after China’s stock market stopped crashing and a strong U.S.jobs report.
Many analysts urged investors not to panic, and traders said the selling this week was generally orderly.
Even so, many investors are unwilling to jump into stocks and buy on recent weakness as the stock market is still trading at above-average valuations.
The Nasdaq slid 146.33, ending the session at 4689.43, while the S&P 500 dipped 47.17 to a finish of 1943.09. The market suffered its worst day in more than three months, with tech and financial stocks hit the hardest.
Advertisement
Riva Gold and Saumya Vaishampayan contributed to this article.
