S&P 500 Down 3% on Global Gloom and Oil Below $30

Nichole Harper
15 Jan, 2016
New York City

Market indexes on Wall Street accelerated declne after another day of sell-off in China spread to Asia and Europe. Indexes in China dipped into bear zone and European markets declined more than 1% and crude oil dipped to a new low in the year and retail sales dipped 0.1% in December.

[R]12:50 PM New York – Market indexes on Wall Street dropped 3% after another day of sell-off in China spread to Asia and Europe. Indexes in China and India dipped into bear zone and European markets declined more than 1.4%. Crude oil dipped to a new low in the year and retail sales dipped 0.1% in December.[/R]

U.S. stocks opened lower as gloom in global markets deepen and stocks in China sank below the last summer level that sparked nearly 10% correction in the world markets.

Market indexes in Asia fell sharply and indexes in Europe fell more than 1.3% after Shanghai stocks declined and dropped to 15-month low.

The Shanghai composite index dropped 3.6% to 2,900.97, the lowest close in fifteen months and the index has fallen more than 20% since its high in December.

Stocks were on the decline in the second largest economy of the world on the renewed worries about China’s economic slowdown spreading to other markets around the world. In addition, the government controlled Xinhua News Agency reported that new loans issued by banks in December declined from the previous month.

Brent crude continued to trade volatile in the region and in India and traded below $30 a barrel and declined 2% in the week.

In Tokyo, Nikkei average declined 0.5% to close at 17,147.11 and Hang Seng index fell 1.5% to 19,520.77. In Mumbai, Sensex index declined 1.3% to 24,455.04.

European markets taking clues from the Asian markets opened lower and quickly fell down more than 1%.

FTSE 100 index dropped 2.1% to 5,794.75 and in Paris CAC 40 index declined 2.4% to 4,210.72 and in Frankfurt the DAX index led the region with a loss of 2.6% to 9,541.33.

Market indexes in New York dropped 2.3% as crude oil price declined below $30 a barrel in early trading in New York.

Dow Jones Industrial Average traded lower 480.46 points or 2.9% and S&P 500 declined 2.9% and the Nasdaq index dropped the most with a loss of 3.6%.

Retail sales declined 0.1% in December, the Commerce Department said on Friday and the decline met the expectations set my many economists.

Sales excluding volatile auto and gasoline were flat compared to the increase 0.4% estimate by economists.

Sales at gas stations declined 1.1% largely on the price decline and auto sales fell 0.1% as sales in the final month of 2015 slower after best yearly sales in nearly a decade.

Weak retail sales are likely to affect the economic growth in the final quarter of 2015 as strong dollar, a severe oil sector downturn and weak industrial production are all expected to weigh on the final three months of activities.

Fourth quarter economic growth is expected to be no better than 1% increase according to several economists.