The stock markets in the United States recorded another decline as investors continue to focus their attention on China and the global economy. The equity markets were also impacted by the decline in oil prices today.
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China’s currency devaluation continued to churn emerging-market assets and threatened the global economic growth.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Steve Bombardiere, an equity trader at Conifer Securities said, “No matter what you’re going to get a knee-jerk reaction. Trading is so thin it’s easy to push things around, but there is some nervousness now with commodities getting weaker and China seeming like it’s losing a little control.”
Investors are increasingly concern about the global economic growth while the Federal Reserve is considering the timing of its first interest rate hike. Last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reiterated its request to the Federal Reserve to delay raising interest rates until it sees “greater signs of wage or price inflation.” The IMF suggest to the central bank to postpone any interest rate hike until the first half of 2016.
[drizzle]The Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee (FOMC) indicated that the conditions for raising interest rates were approaching, but they need more confidence that inflation is moving toward their target. The Committee also perceived more room for the labor market to improve.
Commenting on the statement of the Federal Reserve, LPL Financial market strategist Anthony Valeri said, “Almost all voters needed more evidence on inflation. Since the meeting, inflation expectations declined, the dollar increased further, and China devalued its currency. All of those would argue inflation is less of a risk now than it was at the time of the meeting. That would argue against a Fed rate hike.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. crude oil futures of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined 4.3% to $40.80 a barrel, the lowest amount over the past six years. The U.S. Energy Information Association reported that the country’s crude stockpile increased 2.6 million barrels to 456.21 million barrels last week.
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – 17,348.73 (-0.93%)
- S&P 500- 2,079.62 (-0.83%)
- NASDAQ- 5,019.05 (-0.80%)
- Russell 2000- 1,205.80 (-0.75%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,429.84 (-1.88%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,403.45 (-1.88%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 10.682.15 (-2.14%)
Asia-Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 20,222.63 (-1.61%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 23,167.85 (-1.31%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 3,886.14 (+1.59%)
Stocks in Focus
The stock price of Yum! Brands climbed 2.26% to $86.10 per share. The company announced that Micky Pant will succeed Sam Su as CEO of its business in China. Mr. Su decided to retire from his position.
Dot Hill Systems surged more than 86% to $9.68 per share. Seagate Technology agreed to acquire Dot Hill for $9.75 per share. The shares of Seagate dropped 5% to $49.43 per share after announcing the deal.
The stock value of Canadian Solar plummeted more than 18% to $20.20 per share after reporting weak financial results for the second quarter. The company generated earnings on $0.32 per share. Its revenue declined 26% to $636.7 million.
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