S amp P 500 8216 has worst day in months 8217

The S&P index dropped yesterday.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

The Standard and Poor's 500 Index dropped more than two per cent in yesterday's (April 15th) trading, making it the worst day for the market in five months.

It shed 2.3 per cent of its value over the course of the day's trading, to 1,552.36 in New York, recording the sharpest drop for the index since November.

Vadim Zlotnikov, chief market strategist at AllianceBernstein, explained to the Financial Times that "so much money in the market is currently being driven by the perception of risk rather than the pursuit of returns".

Homebuilders and energy-related shares were among those to weigh heavily on the index during yesterday's trading. Homebuilders on the S&P 500 lost 6.8 per cent.

Markets around the world have reacted negatively to the news that Chinese growth was recorded at 7.7 per cent for the first quarter of the year. Analysts had forecast eight per cent growth between January and march.

Standard & Poor's 500 closed at a record high of 1,570 on April 3rd, the same day that the Dow Jones also reached a new top mark.

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