Wednesday, 23 September 2015 20:24
NEW YORK: US stocks dipped early Wednesday following disappointing Chinese factory data and signs of slower growth in the eurozone.
About 40 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 16,297.16, down 33.31 points (0.20 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 1.51 (0.08 percent) to 1,941.23, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.62 (0.03 percent) to 4,755.10.
China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for factory activity in September fell to its lowest level since March 2009.
A PMI reading for the eurozone dipped to 53.9 points in September from 54.3 points in August. Despite the decline, the reading was still comfortably above the 50 points mark signifying expansion in the economy.
Stocks fell sharply Tuesday on global growth fears. Analysts expected light trading volumes on Wednesday due to the Yom Kippur Jewish holiday.
Software and cloud computing company Citrix Systems rose 1.4 percent on a report the company has reached out to prospective acquirers.
Heron Therapeutics surged 19.8 after releasing positive clinical results for a new pain medication under development on patients undergoing a bunionectomy, a type of foot operation.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.16 percent from 2.14 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year advanced to 2.96 percent from 2.94 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
