S&P 500, Nasdaq Plunge 6%, Europe Falls 4%

123jump.com Staff
20 Nov, 2008
New York City

U.S. market indexes dropped more than 5% and lost 10% in the last two days of trading. S&P 500 index declined to nearly a 12-year low and crude oil prices fell to a 3-year low. Thirteen of 30 Dow stocks are trading below 2002 closing prices. European markets decline 4% and Japan plunges 7%.

4:30PM New York, 10:30PM Frankfurt, 6:30AM Sydney[R]– U.S. stock market indexes dropped more than 5% and lost 10% in the last two days of trading. S&P 500 index declined to nearly 12-year low and crude oil prices fell to 3-year low. Stocks in Japan plunged more than 7%.[/R]

Global Markets

U.S. stocks dropped more than 5% for the second day in a row after worries of economic recession grip the investor sentiment. The unemployment initial claims rose at the end of last week, crude oil price dropped below $49 a barrel, a 3-year low and insurance and banks fell further. Goldman Sachs dropped below its $53 a share initial public offer price 10 years ago. Citigroup fell below $5 a share despite Middle Eastern investor Walid Bin Talal increased his stake to 5% from 4%.

Thirteen of the 30 stocks in Dow are now trading below 2002 close.

The three U.S. automakers are not likely to get the bailout funds till they submit a plan that shows how they intend to use the funds. Secretary Treasury Paulson switched his TARP plan objectives after getting funds from the U.S. Congress. The U.S. Congress does not want to see the repeat of this.

Retailers reported declining revenues and earnings. Solar panels and technologies maker report lower than expected earnings. PetSmart rose 13% and Schools Specialty dropped 9%. Prologis plunged 16%. The dental supplies company slid 16%. Lincoln National dropped 18%.

Stocks in Japan plunged 7% to below key 8,000 mark as investors increasingly worry about the depth of the U.S. economic recession. US lawmakers appear to be still lacking the grasp of the current economic crisis and Secretary Treasury appears to lack direction or a plan.

Hong Kong stocks fell on the global economic slowdown worries tracking losses in Japan and Australia. Banks, realty and retail stocks declined on the worries that credit crunch is likely to get worse in the short term. China to increase tax rebates on the light industry.

North American Markets

Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 444.99 or 5.6% to a close of 7,552.29, S&P 500 Index closed down 54.12 or 6.7% to 752.46, and Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 70.30 or 5.07% to close at 1,316.12. In Toronto, TSX Composite Index decreased 756.04 or 8.9% to 7,734.52.

Of the 30 stocks in Dow Jones Industrial Average 20 closed higher and 10 closed lower.

Citigroup Inc led decliners in the Dow index with a fall of 26.4% followed by decreases in JP Morgan Chase of 18%, in Alcoa Inc of 16%, in Bank of America of 14%, in General Electric of 11.2%.

General Motors was the lone gainer in the Dow with a rise of 3.2% to close at $2.88.
Of the stocks in S&P 500 index, 268 increased, 224 decreased and 8 were unchanged. Of the index stocks, 9 rose more than 3%, 144 fell more than 10%.

Jones Apparel led decliners in the S&P 500 index with a plunge of 47% followed by losses in Prologis of 34.1%, in Lincoln National Corp of 30.6%, in Wyndham Worldwide dropped 30.5%, in Chesapeake Energy of 27% and in Sprint Nextel of 27%.

Interpublic Group led the gainers in the S&P 500 index with a rise of 18.58% followed by gains in Ford Motor Company of 10.3%, in Janus Capital Group of 10%, in MBIA Inc of 7.4%, Sears Holdings of 5.5%, in Salesforce.com of 4%, in Target Corp of 3.9% and in General Motors of 3%.

South American Markets Indexes

Argentina led decliners in the South American region with a loss of 6.6% followed by losses in Chile of 3.6%, in Mexico of 2.1%, in Colombia of 1.5% and in Venezuela of 1.4%.

Europe Markets Review

In London FTSE 100 Index closed lower 130.69 or 3.26% to 3,874.99, in Paris CAC 40 Index decreased 107.47 or 3.48% to close at 2,980.42 and in Frankfurt DAX index lower 133.89 or 3.08% to close at 4,220.20. In Zurich trading SMI decreased 217.96 or 3.95% to close at 5,306.10.

Asian Markets Review

The Nikkei 225 Index in Tokyo closed lower 570.18 or 6.89% to 7,703.04, Hang Seng index in Hong Kong decreased 517.24 or 4.04% closed to 12,298.56 CSI 300 index in China lower 20.74 or 1.06% closed to 1,932.43. ASX 200 index in Australia decreased 146.70 or 4.19% to close 3,352.90. The KL Composite index in Malaysia lower 12.33 or 1.40% closed to 865.32.

The Kospi Index in South Korea decreased 68.13 or 6.70% to close at 948.69. SET index in Thailand closed lower 14.66 or 3.59% to 393.85 and JSE Index in Indonesia decreased 25.39 or 2.15% to 1,154.97. The Sensex index in India decreased 322.77 or 3.68% closed to 8,451.01.

Commodities, Metals, and Currencies

Crude oil decreased $4.92 to close at $48.70 a barrel for a front month contract, natural gas increased 43 cents to $6.31 per mBtu and gasoline futures decreased 9.90 cents to close at 100.80 cents a gallon.

Wheat futures closed down 15.50 cents in Chicago trading and closed at $5.31 a bushel. Sugar decreased 0.16 cent to 11.51 cents a pound. Soybean future closed down 41 cents to $8.56 a bushel.

Gold increased $10.70 in New York trading to close at $746.40 per ounce, silver closed down 31 cents to $9.00 per ounce and copper for the front month delivery decreased 5.90 cent to $1.5505 a pound.

Dollar edged higher against euro to $1.2470 and dropped against yen to 94.145.

Yields on 10-year U.S. bonds dropped to 3.06% and with 30-year maturities decreased to 3.57%.