Stocks plunge as weak China data reignites fear
The sell-off adds to what has been a hard few weeks for United States and worldwide markets.
The FTSE 100 Index has steadied following a sharp fall the day before, after Asian markets fought back from sharp losses overnight.
That combined with another plunge in Chinese stocks sent off red flags in Asia, Europe and the Americas. No part of the market was spared. The S&P 500 fell 3 percent and is once again in a so-called correction.
Commentators say the high government-spending model of the last three decades is unsustainable, and needs to transition into consumer spending.
The selloff in global stocks let up, with USA equities halting a two-day rout and Chinese shares finishing little changed in their last day of trading this week.
China’s manufacturing sector shrank at its fastest pace in three years in August.
WALL STREET: Major US benchmarks finished sharply lower Tuesday after the pessimistic factory data.
Later in the session investors will be focusing their attention on the U.S. Private payrolls report, compiled by payroll processor Automatic Data Processing Inc. and forecasting firm Moody’s Analytics, which could provide an indication of how strong Friday’s nonfarm payroll reading might be. The index has lost 38% of its value since hitting a peak in June.
Investors moved into traditional havens like bonds and gold on Tuesday.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was up 6/32, the yield at 2.179%. The additional amount is estimated to be around 30 billion yuan or 4.7 billion dollars.
“You have worries about the global growth outlook led by Chinese concerns at a time when the Fed is thinking about raising interest rates and that’s leaving investors very twitchy”, Shane Oliver, a global strategist at AMP Capital Investors Ltd.in Sydney, told Bloomberg News. It had surged $3.98, or almost 9 percent, to $49.20 on Monday after the U.S. Energy Department cut its oil output estimate.
Stocks elsewhere in Asia also largely recovered from the past three days’ decline.
“This week will only get more volatile and more unpredictable as we approach the business end of the week, which culminates in Friday’s USA jobs report”. On the Nasdaq, 2,291 issues fell and 563 advanced. The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, William Dudley, believes the craziness in the market doesn’t make a hike “compelling”.
Near-zero rates have allowed the US stock market to stage a spectacular bull-run since the financial crisis. “With inflation remaining low here, I just don’t a reason why they would raise rates”. Basically, USMV isn’t supposed to “swing” as much as the broader market. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.3 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.3 percent to 21,124.32 while South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.2 percent to 1,917.07.
European markets also rose broadly.