The stock markets in the United States declined today with the S&P 500 heading towards its worst month in more than three years. The index dropped 0.84% to 1,972.07 points today. The S&P 500 declined 6.2% in August.
Sign up for our free newsletter
The continued investors’ concern regarding the slowing economic growth globally and the potential interest rate hike as soon as September by the Federal Reserve, were probably the reasons for the market slump.
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer stated that the central bank hadn’t ruled out the possibility of raising interest rates during its next meeting on September 16 to 17. According to him, there is “good reason” to believe that inflation will increase.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Steve Bombardiere, an equity strategist at Conifer Securities commented, “There’s so much emotion right now, and in this environment you can come in any morning and have something out of Europe or Asia crossing us and that’s what causes us to move.”
[drizzle]Bombardiere also noted that some investors “wanted to buy a correction,” however they paused and started thinking as to when will the market decline will last after last week.
On the other hand, Mchael Block, chief equity strategist at Rhino Trading Partners said, “August was a rough month for everybody. There’s a little scare now where people are getting this feeling from Fischer saying we could see a hike as soon as September, that they don’t care about volatility and that we’re on our own. You could argue a rate hike is good for stocks, but it’s a big unknown, and the market is undecided, that’s where the fear is.”
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – 16,525.09 (-0.71%)
- S&P 500- 1,972.07 (-0.84%)
- NASDAQ- 4,773.41 (-1.14%)
- Russell 2000- 1,158.71 (-0.36%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,269.63 (-16.96%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,247.94 (+0.90%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 10,295.46 (-0.38%)
Asia-Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 18,890.48 (-1.28%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 21,670.58 (+0.27%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 3,366.54 (+0.73%)
Stocks in Focus
The Medicines Company surged more than 20% to $40.45 per share today—the biggest gainer among the companies trading on NASDAQ. The board of directors of the biopharmaceutical company appointed Dr. Fred Eshelman as Non-Executive Chairman. Eshelman is the founder of the Eshelman Ventures, an investment company focused on healthcare companies.
The stock price of Netflix declined nearly 2% to $115.35 per share. The online video streaming company announced that it would not renew its agreement with cable network Epix as it prefers to produce original content.
Twitter gained more than 5% to $27.78 per share. Robert Peck, an analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, upgraded his rating on the stock to Buy citing the reason that the company has a “series of positive catalysts.” Peck said he was “cautiously optimistic” on Twitter. According to him, the recent decline of Twitter shares below its IPO provided a “buying opportunity.”
[/drizzle]
