U.S. Stocks Retreat Following Worst Week Since 2012
By Whitney Kisling and Lu Wang - Jan 27, 2014
U.S. stocks fell, extending losses after the worst week for benchmark indexes since 2012, amid concern over the Federal Reserve’s plans to cut stimulus and an economic slowdown in China.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.5 percent to 1,781.54 at 4 p.m. in New York after tumbling 2.6 percent last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 41.36 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,837.75. Both gauges closed at the lowest levels since the middle of December. Trading in S&P 500 stocks was 37 percent above the 30-day average during this time of day.
“I don’t think the emerging market story has played out yet,” Wayne Lin, a portfolio manager at Baltimore-based Legg Mason Inc., which oversees $680 billion, said in a phone interview. “The big question is, is it the beginning of another macro event, or is it just people worried about losing their profits and selling off? People are evaluating whether or not markets are as safe and steady as they have been.”
The S&P 500 (SPX) sank the most since June 2012 last week as a sell-off in developing-nation currencies spurred concern global markets will become more volatile. The decline pushed the index below its average price in the past 50 days for the first time since October. The threshold is currently near 1,813.
Stimulus Cuts
Emerging-market stocks are off to the worst start to a year since 2009 and currencies from Turkey to South Korea tumbled amid signs growth is slowing in China as the Federal Reserve prepares to review further stimulus cuts this week.
more...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-27/u-s-index-futures-rise-following-s-p-500-s-weekly-slide.html