Europe and China worries push US lower – New York Report
Wall closed down yesterday, as investors fretted about Greece’s precarious financial condition and slowing growth in China, while energy stocks fell on weaker oil prices.
US stocks, which rallied Friday on a strong jobs report, have been trading at historically expensive valuations, fuelled by ultra-low borrowing costs.
Investors took a pessimistic view of Europe, as finance ministers met to discuss a cash-for-reforms deal for Greece, even though the country said it made a payment of about €750m ($836m) to the IMF.
They also focused on China, which cut interest rates for the third time in six months on Sunday in a bid to stoke a sputtering economy that is headed for its worst year in a quarter of a century.
All 10 of the major S&P 500 sectors were down, led by the energy index, which fell 2.05 per cent.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 85.94 points, or 0.47 per cent, to end at 18,105.17.
The S&P 500 lost 10.77 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 2,105.33, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 9.98 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,993.57.
Apple was the biggest drag on the Nasdaq, with its shares ending down 1.02 per cent. Smartphone shipments in China shrank for the first time in six years, according to market research firm IDC.
April payroll data published last Friday indicated that US economic growth was picking up, but this was not enough. However, to raise concerns about an earlier-than-expected interest-rate rise by the Federal Reserve.