Friday, 21 August 2015 01:16
NEW YORK: US stocks tumbled early Thursday as worries about slumping oil prices and weak growth in China weighed on investor sentiment.
About 35 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,130.73, down 218.00 points (1.26 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 23.07 (1.11 percent) to 2,056.54, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 64.81 (1.29 percent) to 4,954.24.
The losses in the US came on the heels of declines in leading European and Asian markets after the Shanghai equity index fell 3.42 percent, underscoring worries about the world’s second-largest economy.
Investors also eyed falling oil prices, with the US benchmark contract close to the psychologically important $ 40-per-barrel level. Petroleum-linked equities were mixed, with Dow members ExxonMobil falling 0.8 percent, but oil-services company Weatherford International gaining 1.3 percent.
Drug giant Merck was among biggest losers in the Dow, falling 4.5 percent after recalling brain cancer treatment Temodar and its generic version, Temozolomide, for potential cracks in the child-resistant bottle caps.
Dow component Disney fell 4.4 percent on a weak day for media stocks. Twenty-First Century Fox lost 2.0 percent, CBS dropped 3.4 percent and Comcast shed 1.9 percent.
Drugmaker Eli Lilly surged 5.3 percent after announcing positive clinical results on Jardiance, which aims to reduce cardiovascular risks in people with type 2 diabetes.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International fell 2.4 percent on news it will acquire Sprout Pharmaceuticals for $ 1 billion. Sprout is the maker of the “female Viagra” drug, which treats the sudden and severe loss of libido.
Sears Holding fell 4.6 percent after reporting that second-quarter sales fell 22.5 percent to $ 6.2 billion.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.10 percent from 2.12 percent Wednesday, while the 30-year dipped to 2.78 percent from 2.81 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
