US stocks mostly recover from an early plunge on Wall Street

• October 24 2018
• http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-observer/us-stocks-mostly-recover-from-an-early-plunge-on-wall-street_147771

NEW YORK, USA - A turbulent day on Wall Street ended yesterday with stocks climbing nearly all the way out of a steep, broad sell-off that at one point erased more than 500 points from the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Even with the late-afternoon rebound, stocks extended the market's recent string of declines, giving the benchmark S&P 500 index its fifth-straight loss. Bond prices rose, sending yields lower, as investors sought out safer investments.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index sank 3.1 per cent. European markets also closed sharply lower.

The latest selling came as investors grew unsettled over slowing economic growth in China and increased signs that President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policies are beginning to weigh on corporate earnings. Caterpillar and 3M slumped yesterday after the companies warned of rising costs related to tariffs.

“That's the story, it's not the current quarter results, but the commentary going forward, the impact of tariffs and what that means in terms of costs,” said Willie Delwiche, an investment strategist at Baird. “If tariffs didn't come up in earnings calls and commentary, then maybe you could say we were moving away from that, but the opposite is happening.”

The S&P 500 fell 15.19 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 2,740.69. The Dow lost 125.98 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 25,191.43. The average had been down more than 540 points.

The Nasdaq slid 31.09 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 7,437.54. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 12.91 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 1,526.59. The index is now down for the year.