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Friday, 29 March 2024

Dow sheds 900 points at the open

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Dow sheds 900 points at the open
Dow sheds 900 points at the open

The Dow plunged more than 900 points at the market open Monday after a sharp rise in coronavirus cases outside China stoked fears of a bigger impact to global growth.

Fred Katayama reports.

Investors on Wall Street dumped stocks at the market open Monday.

Volatility gripped the floor of the New York Stock Exchange after a surge in coronavirus cases outside China shook global markets and raised concerns about economic growth.

The steep sell-off was across-the board.

The Dow sank more than 900 points out of the gate, down over 3%.

The S&P lost more than 3%.

The Nasdaq shed 4%.

The three indexes fell below key momentum indicators.

The hardest-hit sectors: tech and consumer cyclical stocks.

Shares of chipmakers, which rely heavily on China for revenue, got slammed.

Advanced Micro Devices and Micron Technology fell more than 7%.

Investors fleeing risk for safer assets picked up gold, sending prices to a seven-year high.

They also scooped up Treasuries, driving yields sharply lower.

That sent down shares of Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and other big banks, which are sensitive to interest rates.

The falling yields also deepened the so-called yield curve inversion which has historically been an indicator of a looming recession.

One person cheering the sell-off was billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

He told CNBC the coronavirus outbreak was - in his words - "scary stuff." But he said his company, Berkshire Hathaway, would "certainly be inclined" - to buy stocks today.

He downplayed the long-term significance of the potential pandemic.

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