U.S. stocks returned to a decline after opening sharply lower on Wednesday as Europe markets closed in the red and weak domestic economic data weighed heavily on markets. "We're probably going to follow the Europe" markets," Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital, said. Although he expected U.S. stocks to close down, he saw some signs of stability.
"I think investors should take advantage of this selloff," he said. European stocks closed more than 2 percent lower on Wednesday as investors shunned risky assets on fears of crumbling global growth, weak economic data, and concerns about the political situation in Greece.
In the United States, transports fell about 2 percent in late morning trade led by a decline in airlines on reports that the new Ebola patient flew the day before falling ill. However, analysts said there were no reports of flight cancellations due to the disease.
"Ebola is in the background," said Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group. "It feeds generally into global growth concerns." Financials led declines on the S&P and traded more than 2 percent lower, while JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs were among the greatest blue-chip decliners. Prior to the start of trading Bank of America posted a smaller-than-expected loss, while BlackRock reported better-than-expected earnings.
In a cumulative move of about 600 points in losses and gains, the Dow Jones Industrial Average came off lows to trade about 250 points lower after falling as much as 369.59 points in the open, or about 2 percent, to below 16,000, with the initial decline led by Intel and Disney. The drop was the Dow's largest intraday decline since June 30, 2013, when it fell 380 points. "It's all about the global economic growth picture," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities.
He noted that the fallout in inversion deals was the most recent factor, while the declining oil prices, decline of the German 10-year bond yield and tensions between Russia and Ukraine were all continuing concerns. Markets in Greece, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany and Spain were all down more than 10 percent from their most recent highs.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield dipped below 2 percent for the first time since May 2013, while U.S. economic data was weaker than expected. The reports "helped exaggerate anxieties investors had recently on full valuations," Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott, said. "I think markets are working off technical levels."
Business inventories rose less than expected in August, and U.S. retail sales fell 0.3 percent in September, slightly more than the expected 0.2 percent decline. The producer price index for September fell 0.1 percent as opposed to expectations of a 0.1 percent gain. Overall, analysts focused on technicals and didn't think markets were seeing capitulation. "I think this is just a correction," said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab. "I'm a long ways from saying we're heading into a bear market."
"The only good stuff is the earnings, but that's backward looking," he said. "We're going to have a pretty solid earnings season."
He added that the pullback would likely cause the Fed to postpone an interest rate hike and that low rates were pressuring financial institutions' profit margins. U.S. stock index futures lost about 1 percent, with the Dow futures losing more than 150 points, as investors were unnerved by word of another Ebola case diagnosed in the U.S. Also driving futures lower was a major drop in the Greek markets that drove a flight to safety in German bunds, with the 10-year bond trading below 0.8 percent. Other concerns included a deteriorating euro zone economic outlook, fed by another credit rating blow for France, and "free falling" inflation expectations dominated the market.
U.S. stocks mostly advanced on Tuesday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite halting their worst three-day rout since 2011 as investors considered a mixed set of earnings from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. Intel released positive after-the-bell results and shares of the company gained more than 2 percent in late trading.Later on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report, an indicator on the state of the U.S. economy, is released at 2 p.m. ET.
Earnings are expected from American Express, eBay and Netflix after the bell. Johnson & Johnson was the only blue-chip gainer while Intel and JPMorgan Chase were the greatest decliners.The S&P 500 lost more than 30 points, or 1.73 percent, with financials knocked the hardest and telecommunications the least hit as all 10 sectors declined.
Two S&P energy stocks traded at highs, while 6 Dow components hit 52-week lows.The Nasdaq recovered from a brief fall into correction territory but still traded lower by 60 points, or 1.43 percent, at 4,167.
Eight stocks declined for every advancer on the New York Stock Exchange in late-morning trade, with an exchange volume of more than 400 million and a composite volume of 2.2 billion. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded above 27, rising nearly 20 percent.The U.S. dollar declined against major world currencies.
Crude oil futures shaved gains to trade just above $81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with gold extending gains to trade $9 higher at $1,243 an ounce as of 11:50 a.m. ET.
On tap this week:
Wednesday
Earnings: eBay, Netflix
2 p.m.: Federal Reserve's Beige Book
Thursday
Earnings: Goldman Sachs Group, Google
8:30 a.m.: Weekly jobless claims for week ending Oct. 11
9:15 a.m.: Industrial production for September
10 a.m.: Home Builders Index for October
10 a.m.: Philly Fed
Friday
Earnings: General Electric, Morgan Stanley
8:30 a.m.: Housing starts for September
9:55 a.m.: Consumer sentiment for October
source: CNBC
"I think investors should take advantage of this selloff," he said. European stocks closed more than 2 percent lower on Wednesday as investors shunned risky assets on fears of crumbling global growth, weak economic data, and concerns about the political situation in Greece.
In the United States, transports fell about 2 percent in late morning trade led by a decline in airlines on reports that the new Ebola patient flew the day before falling ill. However, analysts said there were no reports of flight cancellations due to the disease.
"Ebola is in the background," said Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group. "It feeds generally into global growth concerns." Financials led declines on the S&P and traded more than 2 percent lower, while JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs were among the greatest blue-chip decliners. Prior to the start of trading Bank of America posted a smaller-than-expected loss, while BlackRock reported better-than-expected earnings.
In a cumulative move of about 600 points in losses and gains, the Dow Jones Industrial Average came off lows to trade about 250 points lower after falling as much as 369.59 points in the open, or about 2 percent, to below 16,000, with the initial decline led by Intel and Disney. The drop was the Dow's largest intraday decline since June 30, 2013, when it fell 380 points. "It's all about the global economic growth picture," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities.
He noted that the fallout in inversion deals was the most recent factor, while the declining oil prices, decline of the German 10-year bond yield and tensions between Russia and Ukraine were all continuing concerns. Markets in Greece, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany and Spain were all down more than 10 percent from their most recent highs.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield dipped below 2 percent for the first time since May 2013, while U.S. economic data was weaker than expected. The reports "helped exaggerate anxieties investors had recently on full valuations," Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott, said. "I think markets are working off technical levels."
Business inventories rose less than expected in August, and U.S. retail sales fell 0.3 percent in September, slightly more than the expected 0.2 percent decline. The producer price index for September fell 0.1 percent as opposed to expectations of a 0.1 percent gain. Overall, analysts focused on technicals and didn't think markets were seeing capitulation. "I think this is just a correction," said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab. "I'm a long ways from saying we're heading into a bear market."
"The only good stuff is the earnings, but that's backward looking," he said. "We're going to have a pretty solid earnings season."
He added that the pullback would likely cause the Fed to postpone an interest rate hike and that low rates were pressuring financial institutions' profit margins. U.S. stock index futures lost about 1 percent, with the Dow futures losing more than 150 points, as investors were unnerved by word of another Ebola case diagnosed in the U.S. Also driving futures lower was a major drop in the Greek markets that drove a flight to safety in German bunds, with the 10-year bond trading below 0.8 percent. Other concerns included a deteriorating euro zone economic outlook, fed by another credit rating blow for France, and "free falling" inflation expectations dominated the market.
U.S. stocks mostly advanced on Tuesday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite halting their worst three-day rout since 2011 as investors considered a mixed set of earnings from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. Intel released positive after-the-bell results and shares of the company gained more than 2 percent in late trading.Later on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report, an indicator on the state of the U.S. economy, is released at 2 p.m. ET.
Earnings are expected from American Express, eBay and Netflix after the bell. Johnson & Johnson was the only blue-chip gainer while Intel and JPMorgan Chase were the greatest decliners.The S&P 500 lost more than 30 points, or 1.73 percent, with financials knocked the hardest and telecommunications the least hit as all 10 sectors declined.
Two S&P energy stocks traded at highs, while 6 Dow components hit 52-week lows.The Nasdaq recovered from a brief fall into correction territory but still traded lower by 60 points, or 1.43 percent, at 4,167.
Eight stocks declined for every advancer on the New York Stock Exchange in late-morning trade, with an exchange volume of more than 400 million and a composite volume of 2.2 billion. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded above 27, rising nearly 20 percent.The U.S. dollar declined against major world currencies.
Crude oil futures shaved gains to trade just above $81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with gold extending gains to trade $9 higher at $1,243 an ounce as of 11:50 a.m. ET.
On tap this week:
Wednesday
Earnings: eBay, Netflix
2 p.m.: Federal Reserve's Beige Book
Thursday
Earnings: Goldman Sachs Group, Google
8:30 a.m.: Weekly jobless claims for week ending Oct. 11
9:15 a.m.: Industrial production for September
10 a.m.: Home Builders Index for October
10 a.m.: Philly Fed
Friday
Earnings: General Electric, Morgan Stanley
8:30 a.m.: Housing starts for September
9:55 a.m.: Consumer sentiment for October
source: CNBC