U.S. Stocks Decline With Global Markets as China Devalues Yuan
Source: Bloomberg
August 11, 2015 — 12:26 PM EDT
U.S. stocks slid, following equities’ biggest gain since May, as China’s currency devaluation sparked concern across global markets that the world’s second-largest economy is headed for a deeper slowdown.
Companies that rely heavily on exports to China, including auto and luxury goods makers, retreated. General Motors Co. and Tiffany & Co. lost more than 2 percent. Apple Inc. sank 3.8 percent. Commodity producers from Freeport-McMoRan Inc. to Dow Chemical Co. fell at least 2.3 percent amid concerns about China’s growth. Google Inc. advanced 3.5 percent after saying it will reorganize into a holding company called Alphabet Inc.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 1.1 percent to 2,081.98 at 12:23 p.m. in New York, and fell below the benchmark’s average prices during the past 50 and 100 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 222.62 points, or 1.3 percent, to 17,392.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 1.2 percent.
“The driving forces today continue to be macro-oriented with China the most important,” said Tom Wright, the New York-based director of equities at JMP Securities. “We spend a lot of time obsessing over Greece or Puerto Rico, but China is a much bigger economy and a much bigger problem to the global economy and devaluing the currency is shaking people up.”
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-11/u-s-index-futures-slide-as-china-devalues-yuan-kraft-misses