Industrial stocks fell, and aerospace company Boeing lost $3.31, or 2.4 percent, to $135.52 and railroad operator Union Pacific shed 76 cents, or 1 percent, to $74.07.
Advertisement
Yahoo fell 6.2% to $30.16 after Business Insider reported the company was working on a plan to cut its workforce by at least 10%. At one point it was down 442 points.
The latest selloff began overnight after North Korea claimed it carried out its first hydrogen bomb test. US officials told CNN it could take days to determine if North Korea’s claims are legitimate.
This halt in trading followed yet another weaker fix for China’s yuan – which is pegged against the dollar – which has continued to weaken as the United States dollar has rallied and concerns about China’s economy abound. The survey shows that the service sector may not be strong enough to sustain China’s level of growth.
Investors also pushed down the price of oil and metals as attention turned back to China. US benchmark crude sank $1.58, or 4.4 percent, to $34.39 a barrel in NY.
Other stock markets from NY to Hong Kong to Tokyo also fell, continuing the rout that started at the beginning of the year. Oil prices slipped one percent to $33.65 a barrel, briefly trading at 12-year lows.
The markets suffered a second straight day of losses as investors continue to fret over the stability of China’s market and the price of oil. On Monday, stocks tumbled more than 3 percent before recovering, then declined again on Wednesday. The Nasdaq composite index fell 82 points or 1.7 percent, to 4,753. Copper dipped below $2 for the first time since 2009.
The S&P 500 lost 1.2%, slightly offsetting a loss of 1.8%.
Benchmarks in Taiwan, New Zealand and Southeast Asia also fell. The ADP report covers only private businesses, and the government is to issue its own report Friday. The yield on 10-year Treasury bond was unchanged at 2.17 percent. Thursday’s market plunge may have been exacerbated by investors rushing to sell before they were locked out, some analysts said.
But that may mean even more volatility in a year that has already had a lot. They maintain that market levels have been artificially maintained by cheap money from Central banks and high government deficits.
Auto retailer AutoNation said it had to offer large discounts in December, especially on luxury vehicles. Stock trading in Shanghai and Shenzhen were suspended at 10:05 am on January 7 after the CSI 300 Index fell 7%.
Chipotle Mexican Grill said it received a federal grand jury subpoena as the government looks into norovirus outbreak at a California restaurant this summer. The Nasdaq is down 6.4 percent.
Advertisement
The price of gold and silver both rose more than 1 percent, with gold at $1,103.90 an ounce and silver at $14.16 an ounce. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 1%.
