Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 31, 2014.(Photo: Richard Drew, AP)
Story Highlights
- Nikkei reacts to Friday losses on Wall Street
- Many markets in Asia still closed for holiday
Stocks dropped in morning trading as Wall Street struggles to shake off the first down January for the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 in four years.
Weaker reports on U.S. manufacturing and construction spending brought fresh concerns about the economy.
Investors were also disappointed in auto sales from General Motors and Ford.
MANUFACTURING: Factories expanded at much slower pace in January
CONSTRUCTION: Spending up only 0.1% in Dec.
AUTO SALES: GM, Ford sales sag, Chrysler up 8%
In late morning trading, the Dow was down 1% to 15,543 and the S&P 500 index dropped 1% to 1,765. The Nasdaq composite index fell 1.1% to 4,058.
Global stocks were lower as Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 2% to 14,619.13 amid lingering jitters about weakness in the financial markets of some developing countries. Markets were closed in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Malaysia for Lunar New Year holidays.
European shares also fell. Germany's DAX index was down 1.2% to 9,197 and France's CAC 40 index slipped 1% to 4,124. Britain's FTSE 100 index dropped 0.5% to 6,480.
On Friday, the Dow closed down 149.76 points, or 0.9%, to 15,698.85. The S&P 500 closed down 11.60 points, 0.7%, to 1,782.59. The tech-laden Nasdaq composite ended down 19.25 points, 0.5%, to 4,103.88.
MORE: Down January for stocks is ominous for rest of the year
Investors continue to flee to the safety of fixed-income investments. The yield on the bellwether 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.62% from 2.65% Friday. As recently as the first week of January, the yield, which moves inversely to the price, was at 3.03%, according to Yahoo Finance data.
MORE: Skittish investors cling to defensive stocks
The slow start on Wall Street in January, which often serves as a barometer of how stocks trade for the entire year, is the latest worry of skittish investors, who have been reacting negatively to roiled emerging markets. According to the Stock Trader's Almanac, when the first month of the year is negative the chances of finishing the full year in the plus column drop to roughly 50-50, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.
MORE: S&P 500 ends January with a loss: Bad 2014 omen?
Benchmark U.S. crude for March delivery was up 7 cents at $97.56 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 74 cents to close at $97.49 a barrel.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1j6mMl6
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