Indices record their deepest weekly declines in more than two years
US stocks ended sharply lower at Wall Street on Friday, 10 October 2014. After a sharp selloff in U.S. stocks on Friday the main benchmarks recorded their deepest weekly declines in more than two years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 115 points, or 0.7%, to 16,544.10, and lost 2.7% over the week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 102 points, or 2.3%, to 4,276.24 and suffered its worst weekly decline since May 2012. The S&P 500 fell 22 points, or 1.1%, to 1,906.13, losing 3.1% over the week, its biggest weekly drop since May 2012. The benchmark index is a hair's breadth away from undercutting its key support level.
Biggest losses came from the technology sector.
Amomg stocks under focus, Symantec shares slid 6.4%. The security-software maker late Thursday said it plans to split into two publicly traded companies. Juniper Networks fell 9% after a late Thursday warning that fiscal third-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings are likely to be below its previous estimates.
U.S. stock indexes are under pressure and have hit two-month lows, while other world stock markets are also selling off. U.S. Treasury bond and note futures prices are at contract highs on safe-haven demand. Late this week the focus of the market place has turned to the prospect of weakening world economies that could lead to still more monetary stimulus for the European Union, and could prompt the U.S. Federal Reserve to at least hold off on any plans to raise U.S. interest rates soon. The specter of anemic world economies also carries with it the risk of serious deflationary pressures.
U.S economic data due for release on Friday included import and export price indexes, and the monthly Treasury budget statement. Export prices, excluding agriculture, decreased 0.2% in September after decreasing 0.2% in the prior reading. Excluding oil, import prices ticked down 0.1%, which followed last month's unchanged reading.
Also Read
Ongoing U.S. dollar strength, which has pressured commodities markets across the board. Investors are now looking to the November meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for potential supply cuts to balance the market.
Meanwhile, the dollar rose, with the ICE dollar index, a measure of the greenback against a basket of six rivals, gaining 0.4%. A stronger dollar can weigh on commodities priced in the unit by making them more expensive to users of other currencies.
Bullion prices edged lower on Friday, 10 October 2014 at Comex with a stronger U.S. dollar trumping a further wave of risk aversion as global equities declined, taking a cue from a sharp selloff in U.S. stocks a day earlier.
December gold futures fell $3.60, or 0.3%, to $1,221.70 an ounce but closed the week 2.4% higher, its first weekly gain in six weeks. December silver dropped 11 cents, or 0.7%, to $17.30 an ounce.
Crude-oil futures ended modestly higher on Friday, 10 October 2014 at Nymex but notched weekly losses that were the steepest since January for New York-traded oil.
Light, sweet crude futures for delivery in November rose 5 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $85.82 a barrel. For the week, the commodity was off 4.4%, its worst weekly performance, in percentage terms in this year.
Global oil prices have been falling on ongoing concerns that supplies far outstrip demand, with contributing factors including high U.S. oil production, a surge in Libyan oil output, a seasonal peak in refinery maintenance, and weak consumption in Asia and Europe. The small uptick on Friday came after both benchmarks traded at multiyear lows on the previous session.
The bulk of the day near their flat lines before rallying into the close. The 10-yr yield slipped two basis points to 2.29%.
Once again, participation was above average with more than 920 million shares changing hands at the NYSE.
There is no economic data of note on Monday's schedule.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News