Comments
US stocks fell sharply today as increased jobless claims in the country and disappointing economic data from different parts of the world rattled investor sentiment, with the Dow Jones crashing 481 points.
Fears about the global economic slowdown pushed stocks into a tailspin in Asia and Europe, while rising jobless claims in the US hit investor sentiment on the Wall Street.
The Dow tumbled over 481 points or over four per cent to 10,928.94 points in the first few minutes of trading while the broader S&P 500 fell over three per cent to 1,154.53 points.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged nearly four per cent to 2,412.18 points.
The number of people seeking unemployment claims in the US rose to 408,000 last week -- yet another sign that American market continues to be weak.
Latest data from Japan and the UK also indicated overall sluggishness in the global economy. While Japanese exports declined more than three per cent in July, British retail sales too dropped last month.
Earlier in the day, most of the Asian markets closed in the red. Chinese benchmark Shanghai Composite Index and Japan’s key Nikkei 225 shed over one per cent.
In afternoon trade, European shares too were down, with France’s key index CAC 40 plunging over four per cent. Similar trends were witnessed in Germany and the UK stock markets.
Concerns about slowing American economy and escalating European debt turmoil have battered global markets in recent weeks, despite assurances from leaders to rejuvenate global economic health.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.