US stocks open lower as sell off continues
Investors worry about the Chinese economy and the timing of a US rate hike.
US stocks opened lower this morning (September 29th) in New York, extending a global sell-off that started yesterday over weak corporate news, speculation on the timing of a US Fed rate hike and worries about China's economy.
The S&P 500 was down 0.2 per cent in early trading and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.3 per cent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index dipped 0.5 per cent.
Yesterday, the Nasdaq lost three per cent slump, the Dow Jones was down 1.9 per cent and the S&P 500 fell 2.6 per cent to close below 1,900 for the first time since August 26th.
Shares in Asia also closed down sharply today, with Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbling 4.1 per cent to 16,930.84 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 losing 3.8 per cent to 4,918.40. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped three per cent to 20,556.60 and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China edged down two per cent to 3,038.14.
The sell-off was more limited in Europe, where markets ended the day on a mixed note. The FTSE 100 in London was down 0.4 per cent, while Germany's DAX index gained 0.4 per cent and the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.3 per cent.