Dow takes 600-point hit on the heels of Labor Day weekend

4 pm ET: Wall Street ends deep in the red

The Dow Jones Industrial Avergae finished 2.3% lower Tuesday, dropping 632 points following the long weekend. The S&P 500 dipped 2.8% to 3,331.8 and the Nasdaq fell 4.1% to 10,947.7.

Tech stocks were a beleagured bunch, including Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which lost 6.7% to $11.82.

12pm ET/ 5pm: FTSE closes lower

FTSE 100 index closed a shade lower on Tuesday as the tech sell-off in the USA continued.

Britain’s blue-chip benchmark finished down around seven points, or 0.12%, at 5,930.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones lost over 493 points, while the Nasdaq plunged over 313 points.

“European equity markets are deep in the red this afternoon as the continued weakness in US markets and the rise in tensions between the Trump administration and China has hurt confidence,” noted David Madden, analyst at CMC Markets.

“Stocks in Europe had free rein yesterday as the US exchanges remained closed because it was Labour Day. The weakness that we saw in big US tech names last week, is still in play, and that is driving sentiment over here.”

US and Canada 11.30am ET/4.30pm

Wall Street benchmarks were deep in the red on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down over 438 points at 27,6945. The broader-based S&P 500 index shed around 65 points at 3,636.  The technology stock laden Nasdaq exchange plunged over 286 points at 11,026. In Toronto, the TSX shed over 86 points at 16,131.

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3pm: Wall Starts in the red

The main Wall Street indices opened in negative territory on Tuesday at the start of a shortened week as traders seemed to be less optimistic following the Labor Day weekend.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.56% at 27,693 while the S&P 500 slipped 1.89% to 3,362 and the Nasdaq slumped 3.33% to 10,936.

The tech-dominated Nasdaq has been weighed down by a continuation of heavy selling of tech stocks that characterized last week’s rout, with electric car firm Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) suffering particularly badly, tumbling 15.6% to US$353 after the stock was snubbed by the S&P 500 index.

Comments from Donald Trump that he may seek to decouple the US economy from China also seem to have rattled markets as the specter of a trade war once again rears its head.

7.51am: Wall Street to make subdued return after the long weekend

After the long Labor Day weekend, US investors hoping for a resumption of upward momentum may have to wait a bit longer.

Spread betting quotes indicate that even the gravity-defying NASDAQ Composite will open lower, at 11,272 (down 41 points).

The Dow Jones average is expected to retreat 60 points to 28,073 and the S&P 500 is tipped to shed 32 points at 3,395.

The recent stonking gains – particularly on the NASDAQ – have been driven by the mega-large technology stocks but early-morning focus has been on small businesses, with the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index climbing to 100.2 in August from 98.8 in July.

Economists had expected a reading of around 99.0.

“The uptick in the headline is due mostly to increases in earnings expectations, up seven points, and the key labour market components, which were released last week ahead of the official payroll report, as usual,” explained Ian Shepherdson, the chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

“Hiring plans and jobs-hard-to-fill both rose by three points, and the former has now returned to its February pre-COVID level, 21. This is impossible to square, however, with the Homebase small business employment data, which show that payrolls in the sector have been falling outright since mid-August. We accept that the small business sector is in a state of flux, but the Homebase data come from a much bigger pool of firms than the NFIB sample, and have been a good guide to the official payroll numbers in recent months,” Shepherdson noted.

Four things to watch for on Tuesday:

• Stock price reaction from electric car maker Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) after it was given the cold shoulder by S&P Dow Jones Indices, who declined to add the firm to the S&P 500 index on Friday afternoon last week
• US consumer credit data for the month of July, which will be eyed hopefully to see a continuing of the rebound seen in June, which saw the figure rise by US$8.95 billion, however this missed market expectations of a US$10 billion increase. A higher figure is likely to indicate American consumers are borrowing and thus spending more
• Possible political and market fallout from recent comments by US president Donald Trump in which eh vowed to “decouple” the US economy from China, while simultaneously blasting his Democratic challenger for the presidency Joe Biden
• Positive movements from the dollar as it attempts to recover from a sell off last month, which could add pressure to gold prices and increase fears of a correction for the yellow metal

Story by ProactiveInvestors