Markets began the day fixated on the latest drop in the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note, which is seen as indicative of worries that economic growth will be weaker than expected worldwide.
Source: Reuters
Wall Street stocks tumbled on July 19, with Dow Jones losing more than 850 points by midday amid global concerns over spiralling inflation and resurgent COVID-19 waves.
Around half-an-hour after noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 856.21 points, or by approximately 2.47 percent, to 33,831.64.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 1.8 percent to 4,251.21, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.4 percent to 14,225.30.
Also Read | European markets were taking bigger losses of between 2% and 3%
Markets began the day fixated on the latest drop in the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note, which is seen as indicative of worries that economic growth will be weaker than expected worldwide.
The “fear factor is gripping the market,” said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital. “The good news of earnings is being cast to the sideline.”
Although last week’s earnings largely topped expectations, investors have focused on the threat from higher consumer prices, as well as the Delta variant of Covid-19, which has prompted some countries in Asia and Europe to impose business restrictions and resulted in another uptick in US infections.
Travel-related stocks were under pressure amid the latest Covid-19 trends, with Carnival down seven percent, United Airlines 6.3 percent and Marriott International 5.1 percent.
Cloud software company Five9 jumped 4.5 percent after agreeing to be acquired by Zoom Video for $ 14.7 billion in stock. Zoom dropped 3.8 percent.
This week’s calendar includes several key reports on the US housing market, as well as earnings from IBM, Netflix and Johnson & Johnson.
With AFP inputs
