Stocks on Wall Street in 5-day Slump on Europe Growth Worries

Nichole Harper
06 Jan, 2015
New York City

U.S. market indexes declined more than 1% and S&P 500 index fell for the fifth day in a row. Crude oil declined 4% and gold added 1.2%. European markets remained volatile as political leaders in the region debate the fallout of Greek exit from the euro.

[R]12:40 PM New York – U.S. market indexes declined more than 1% and S&P 500 index fell for the fifth day in a row. Crude oil declined 4% and gold added 1.2%. European markets remained volatile as political leaders in the region debate the fallout of Greek exit from the euro.[/R]

Market indexes on Wall Street extended losses for the fifth session in a row and oil price continued to decline further.

The rocky start in the year was reminiscent of the similar market environment in early 2014 when large cap companies fell as much as 3.6% in the first three weeks after indexes shot up more than 29% in 2013.

On Wall Street trading, Tollbooth Strategy Index dropped 0.8% or 78.10 to 9,778.20.

S&P 500 index slipped 16.83 or 0.8% to 2,003.73 and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 54.44 or 1.2% to 4,598.67.

S&P 500 index declined for the fifth day in a row and the broader indexes fell as much as 3% after five days of trading.

Light sweet crude oil declined 4% or $2.10 to $47.96 a barrel but gold gained $15.20 to 1,219.20 an ounce.

European markets remained volatile after media reports suggested German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s view of eventual Greek exit from the euro was not shared by her party and other political leaders.

U.S. Movers

AOL Inc ((AOL)) climbed 4.5% or $2.03 to $46.77 on media reports suggesting that the wireless communications service provider Verizon Communications Inc. approached the online content provider for a takeover or a partnership to expand its mobile-video offerings.

Coach Inc ((COH)) gained 12 cents to $36.85 after the accessory and gift retailer agreed to acquire women''s luxury footwear designer Stuart Weitzman Holdings LLC for about $574 million from private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

European Markets

In London trading, FTSE 100 index rose 0.2% or 14.32 to 6,431.48 and in Frankfurt the DAX index increased 0.9% or 83.77 to 9,556.93.

In Paris, CAC 40 index gained 0.4% or 17.73 to 4,129.09.

Abengoa SA soared 7.9% to €2.38 after the Spain-based engineering company and the U.S.-based energy and infrastructure investor EIG Global Energy Partners signed an agreement to invest in conventional power plants and renewable energy projects.

EIG Global Energy will take a majority stake in the project that requires total investment of about $9.5 billion.

TomTom NV surged 9.3% to €5.79 after the Netherlands-based navigation and mapping product supplier agreed to deliver maps to Volkswagen AG as the automaker plans to launch in-dash navigation system.

Asian Markets

Japanese stocks plunged after Greece related worries dragged markets in Europe and deepening bear market in oil also added to market anxieties in New York trading. Auto makers reported better-than-expected U.S. sales in December.

Stocks in Tokyo tumbled following Asia-wide sell-off sparked by the sharp declines in European and New York markets and deepening bear market in crude oil.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 525.52 or 3% to 16,883.19 and the broader Topix index dropped 39.95 or 2.8% to 1,361.14.

The market decline was the largest since the global equity sell-off since June 2013.

The yen strengthened to 118.91 against one dollar.

In Mumbai trading, Sensex Index plunged 854.86 or 3.1% to close at 26,987.46. The CNX Nifty declined 251.05 or 3% to 8,127.35.

Stocks in Mumbai plunged after markets indexes in Asia tracked lower following sharp falls in Europe and in the U.S. in overnight trading.

European markets dropped between 2% and 4% and market indexes in New York declined 1.8% and crude oil futures extended losses and fell near $50 a barrel for the U.S. delivery.

Investors in Europe sold stocks on the first trading day of the year after fears of Greece leaving the euro zone resurfaced and Germany reported stagnant prices in December.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, Ltd, the hospital operator agreed to acquire Nova Speciality Hospitals for about Rs 145 crore.

Videocon Industries Limited, the consumer goods provider’s unit Videocon d2h plans to sell 33.5% stake worth $300 million to the U.S.-based Silver Eagle.