After a horrendous August, September (Wall Street’s worst month historically) comes in like a bear. U.S. stocks plummeted Tuesday as fears about China and oil prices caused significant drops across all three major U.S. indexes yesterday. Dropping 3%, it marked the third largest daily decline for 2015.
Two separate reports surfaced yesterday showing that China’s factory activity level for August was at a three year low. As a result, three major Asian indexes opened down as well. The Shanghai index was down 1.2%, Australia’s ASX All Ordinaries was down 2%, and Tokyo’s Nikkei was down 3.8%.
The International Monetary Fund in Washington D.C. warned investors that this WILL have an effect on the global economy, and the effect was certainly felt at home. Major tech companies who depend on China’s manufacturing such as Apple, Qualcomm, and Avago, took major hits yesterday.
After a 10% jump on Monday, oil prices dropped 7% in response to the potential troubles in China. Oil companies in America are showing their concern, as ConocoPhillips announced yesterday it would cut 1,800 jobs due to the “dramatic downturn” in the energy sector. This is especially concerning with the latest U.S. employment data expected on Friday.
Here are the final numbers from Tuesday on Wall Street:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,058.35 (-470)
NASDAQ: 4,636.11 (-140)
S&P 500: 1,913.85 (-58.33)
