Tag Archives: Wall Street

Global stocks dip, bond yields rise as Fed zest fades

Photo courtesy of Reuters/Brendan McDermid

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock markets around the world fell and bond yields rose as investors weighed the implications that a U.S. interest rate rise before the end of the year would have for the global economy and markets.

The Federal Reserve, which kept its rates on hold as expected on Wednesday, took the unusual step of strengthening its language about timing in its statement, making it clear that a December rate hike was still possible. The Fed also removed a previous warning about slowing global growth.

Wall Street was lower, giving up some of Wednesday’s gains. The U.S. stock market initially reacted negatively to the Fed statement, but later reversed course to end near the day’s highs on Wednesday.

The MSCI All-Country World Index <.MIWD00000PUS> has recovered most of the losses that occurred beginning in mid-August on worries about slowed worldwide demand and the Fed’s plans. It was last down 0.6 percent on Thursday.

U.S. Treasury yields continued Wednesday’s rise after the Fed explicitly referred in its statement at the end of its two-day policy meeting to conditions necessary “to raise the target range at its next meeting”. Reference to a particular meeting is rare for the Fed.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose 7 basis points to 2.16 percent <US10YT=RR>. The two-year note’s yield was 0.73 percent, highest since late September.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 32.98 points, or 0.19 percent, to 17,746.54, the S&P 500 <.SPX> lost 1.42 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,088.93 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 12.32 points, or 0.24 percent, to 5,083.38.

The first estimate of third quarter U.S. growth, released on Thursday, showed the world’s biggest economy expanded at a 1.5 percent annualized pace, below the expected 1.6 percent. But economists expect growth to pick up in the fourth quarter, given strong consumer spending figures.

In Europe the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> was down 0.2 percent at 1,481 points. Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei share average <.N225> gained 0.2 percent to close at 18,935.71.

Many investors are still not convinced about a rate lift-off given a recent run of soft U.S. data, making economic releases in coming weeks more crucial in determining a December move.

Economists expect a key U.S. manufacturing index due Monday <USPMI=ECI> to show the first contraction in the sector in 2-1/2 years, which would not be conducive for a rate hike.

The Fed’s stance contrasts to the European Central Bank and other major central banks, a factor that is expected to underpin the dollar. The Fed and ECB hold policy decisions within two weeks of each other in December.

The ECB last week signaled its readiness to inject more stimulus to boost prices and the People’s Bank of China followed with its sixth interest rate cut in less than a year.

The dollar gave back its earlier gains, with the euro trading 0.4 percent higher on the day at $1.0966 <EUR=>, having skidded to a 2-1/2 month low of $1.0826 overnight.

Crude oil futures were slightly higher one day after soaring more than 6 percent as the U.S. government reported an inventory build.

U.S. crude <CLc1> rose 0.4 percent to $46.11 a barrel. Brent <LCOc1> was steady at $49.05. Spot gold <XAU=> fell 2 percent to $1,150 an ounce.

(By David Gaffen; Additional reporting by Anirban Nag; Editing by Gareth Jones and Nick Zieminski)

Fed Announcement Causes Roller Coaster Market Ride

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rode a roller coaster Thursday afternoon following the announcement that the Federal Reserve would be holding interest rates at their current level.

Within minutes of the announcement, the Dow fell almost 90 points in a span of two minutes before gaining all of it back in the next six minutes.  The Dow then jumped about 30 minutes later to almost a 200 point gain on the day before slowly tumbling to finish the day 65 points lower at 16,674.74.

The S&P 500 followed a similar track to the Dow, falling in the minutes after the announcement and having a huge peak around 3 p.m. before ending the day down 5 points at 1,990.20.

The NASDAQ also road the roller coaster but because of early gains in the day only dipped into the red during the initial post-announcement fall.  The NASDAQ composite finished the day 4.71 higher at 4,893.95 to continue a week of steady gains.

Market Continues Roller Coaster Ride

The Market hit a flat track today as U.S. stocks rebounded a bit after the Dow plunged more than 200 points in the late afternoon on Wednesday.  The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 77 points, or 0.5%, after initially bouncing in and out of positive territory.

This roller coaster has put investors in a jumpy frame of mind while most braced for next week’s Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates.  

The Dow, which typically moves about 150 points between peak and tough throughout the trading day, has experienced average daily swings of more than 400 points since August 19.

The market ride was punctuated by the Dow’s 1,000-point nosedive on August 24, its largest one day point decline on record.

Markets Begin September in Nose Dive

The stock markets ended one of the worst months in three years by starting September in a nose dive.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 470 points and ended at 16,058.  The drop of just over 2.8% was the single worst opening day for a month in the market since March 2009.  The Dow has fallen 12.5% from the all-time high in May.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 also had their worst first day of trading since March 2009, falling almost 3 percent to 1,913.  Only three stocks in the index showed gains on the day:  Cablevision, American Airlines and a chemical company, Sigma-Aldrich.

The NASDAQ had its worst opening day of a month trading since October 2011.  It’s now 2% lower for the year.

Most analysts attributed the stock fall to continuing fears about the Chinese economy and volatility in the Chinese stock market.  Two major reports from China today showed significant slowing in the country’s manufacturing.

Many of the American stocks that took heavy hits in today’s trading have strong connections to China such as Apple and Qualcomm.

However, the U.S. gauge for manufacturing also turned in a dismal result Tuesday.  The ISM manufacturing index fell to its lowest level since May 2013.

Dow Snaps Losing Streak with Large Gain

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) snapped a six day streak of major losses with a huge gain in Wednesday, finishing more than 600 points higher than Tuesday’s close.

The index ended the day at 16,285.51, up 619.07 points or an increase of 3.96%.  The Standard & Poor’s 500 was 3.9% higher at 1,940.51 (up 72.90 points) and the NASDAQ was up 191.05 points, or 4.24%, to finish at 4,697.54.

The market actions also caused the policymaker for the federal reserve, William Dudley, to quietly backtrack on indications that an interest rate increase would be coming in September.  Dudley now is implying the rate is likely to increase in October.

The markets around the world were mixed, with Europe down Wednesday after increasing on Tuesday and China’s Shanghai exchange finishing 1.3% lower on a day of erratic trading.

Analysts are trying to play up what they call good economic news for the U.S. as an indicator a Chinese downturn will not impact the overall economy.  The Commerce Department announced orders for durable goods increased 2% in July and that consumer confidence and new home sales were also up during the month.

“People need to see that the U.S. economy is still okay and that China is not going to fall apart,” said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist for SunTrust, told the Washington Post.

The market losses have been crushing to most Americans who have invested in stocks.  Collectively, over $2.1 trillion in value was lost during the six day market decline, and it brought the largest selloff in 75 years.

The Economic Collapse Blog: BLACK MONDAY: The First Time EVER The Dow Has Dropped By More Than 500 Points On Two Consecutive Days

On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 588 points. It was the 8th worst single day stock market crash in U.S. history, and it was the first time that the Dow has ever fallen by more than 500 points on two consecutive days. But the amazing thing is that the Dow actually performed better than almost every other major global stock market on Monday.  In the U.S., the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both did worse than the Dow. In Europe, almost every major index performed significantly worse than the Dow.  Over in Asia, Japanese stocks were down 895 points, and Chinese stocks experienced the biggest decline of all (a whopping 8.46 percent). On June 25th, I was not kidding around when I issued a “red alert” for the last six months of 2015. I had never issued a formal alert for any other period of time, and I specifically stated that “a major financial collapse is imminent“. But you know what? As the weeks and months roll along, things will eventually be even worse than what any of the experts (including myself) have been projecting. The global financial system is now unraveling, and you better pack a lunch because this is going to be one very long horror show.

Our world has not seen a day quite like Monday in a very, very long time. Let’s start our discussion where the carnage began…

The Economic Collapse Blog – The Economic Collapse Blog: BLACK MONDAY: The First Time EVER The Dow Has Dropped By More Than 500 Points On Two Consecutive Days

CNNMoney: Trading was halted 1,200 times Monday

The selling on Wall Street was so dramatic Monday that it triggered unprecedented emergency freezes on stocks.

Stocks and exchange-traded funds were automatically halted more than 1,200 times, according to Nasdaq.

The high level of trading pauses highlights just how extreme the selloff was in a short span of time. Fears about China’s economic slowdown caused the Dow to plummet over 1,000 points when the market opened. The Dow ended down 588 points, its worst decline since August 2011.

CNNMoney – CNNMoney: Trading was halted 1,200 times Monday

Wall Street Ends the Day Down Despite Early Gains

Investors were hopeful on Tuesday as U.S. stock seemed to have early gains, but those gains were reversed and U.S. stocks ended down within the final 30 minutes of trade.

Trading on Wall Street was voluminous . S&P 500 was down 1.4% even after a late selloff that gained them 2.9% earlier today.

The day ended with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 204.91 points, or 1.29%, to 15,666.44.  The NASDAQ Composite lost 19.77 points and S&P 500 was down 25.59 points, it’s biggest loss since 2011.

“You saw a knee-jerk drop and a knee-jerk recovery and now people are thinking about it,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial in Waltham, Mass.

The Chinese central bank cut interest rates by 0.25%, making the one-year lending rate 4.6%. The reason was “aimed at lowering corporate borrowing costs and to ensure enough liquidity for stable credit growth.”

“I think it’s a real good start, but it’s on the low end of what the markets were looking for. It indicates China has stepped off the idea that markets will go it alone, and instead the government will support them. It’s not a question about how much assistance there is, now that they’ve made the commitment, it will be enough [to quell market sentiment],” McMillan stated.

Despite these efforts to boost China’s equity markets, the Shanghai Composite lost 7.63% and Japan’s Nikkei fell 3.96%.

The price of oil barely rose, but the slowdown in China kept prices from rising significantly. The price of copper rose 2.3%, but the values of both gold and silver fell.

U.S. Stocks Attempting to Rally after 1,100 Point Plunge

U.S. stock markets are attempting to rally after a massive 1,100 point plunge at the opening of today’s market attributed to the crashing of the Chinese stock market.

After opening to the biggest one day loss in the history of the economy, investors are starting to buy back in an attempt to save the market.  As of noon central time, the Dow has rallied back to 16,325.00, a drop of 134.55 points, or a 0.81% decline.

The massive drop at the opening was attributed to the sell-off in China that has crashed their stock market.  The Shanghai Composite Index fell 8.5 percent, the worst one day fall since October 2007.

The drop was so significant that the official Chinese news agency used the term “Black Monday.”

The drop in China is causing significant amounts of civil disorder.  Millionaires who flew into Shanghai over the weekend for meetings were attacked by crowds as they tried to leave their hotel.  The head of an exchange that trades in metals was captured by angry investors and brought to police as they demanded their money be unfrozen.  Police later released him without charge.

“China is definitely the No. 1 cause for concern globally and Europe is not far behind,” Peter Kenny, chief market strategist at Clearpool Group, told fox Business. “The speed at which this market has moved sharply lower is an indication panic is driving all investment decisions. If you haven’t positioned yourself for volatility and seasonal weakness, you’re behind the 8 ball.”

The selloff in America was driven in the tech sector.  Facebook fell 7% at the opening, Twitter, NetFlix and clean car maker Tesla Motors all tumbled at the start.  Many are rallying through the day.

Historic Drop on Wall Street at Opening Bell

Investors are bracing for an incredibly ugly and volatile day on Wall Street today as China closed to their own version of a “Black Monday” and the Dow dived over 900 points at the opening bell.    Oil Prices plunged below $40 a barrel. At this moment we are down 6% and have lost 1000 points on the DOW.  

Experts agree that the market in China, the uncertainty on the interest rate and the effect of cheap oil are causing this slide.  Many are stating that there must be something more happening to cause this type of market descent.  

China’s market last dropped this low in 2007.  And is down more than 40% in the last two weeks.  This is being called a Market Crash by most of the financial community.