NEW YORK, July 19 — Wall Street stocks tumbled early today, with the Dow losing more than two per cent amid worries over global growth in light of inflation and the latest Covid-19 wave.
About an hour into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.2 per cent, or around 750 points, at 33,938.21.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 1.8 per cent to 4,251.21, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.4 per cent to 14,225.30.
Markets began the day fixated on the latest drop in the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note, which is seen as indicative of worries that economic growth will be weaker than expected worldwide.
The “fear factor is gripping the market,” said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital. “The good news of earnings is being cast to the sideline.”
Although last week’s earnings largely topped expectations, investors have focused on the threat from higher consumer prices, as well as the Delta variant of Covid-19, which has prompted some countries in Asia and Europe to impose business restrictions and resulted in another uptick in US infections.
Travel-related stocks were under pressure amid the latest Covid-19 trends, with Carnival down seven per cent, United Airlines 6.3 per cent and Marriott International 5.1 per cent.
Cloud software company Five9 jumped 4.5 per cent after agreeing to be acquired by Zoom Video for US$14.7 billion in stock. Zoom dropped 3.8 per cent.
This week’s calendar includes several key reports on the US housing market, as well as earnings from IBM, Netflix and Johnson & Johnson. — AFP
