White House says ‘it’s concerned’ as Dow Jones falls 550 points after HUGE plunge
US MARKETS are showing no sign of stopping the rot as investors continue to worry about rising interest rates and the removal of central bank support as the Dow Jones plummets.
By DAVID DAWKINS
Express.co.uk
Mon, Feb 5, 2018
After shedding a massive 666 points on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 556.47 points, or 2.18 percent, to 24,964.49 in afternoon trading.
The White House today confirmed it was worried about the US stock market drop but insisted the fundamentals of the US economy are strong as the stock markets declined. White House spokesman Raj Shah told reporters on Air Force One as President Donald Trump flew to Ohio: “Markets fluctuate, but the fundamentals of this economy are very strong and they are headed in the right direction.”
In a statement to CNBC, an official said: “We’re always concerned when the market loses any value, but we’re also confident in the economy’s fundamentals.”
The S&P 500 opened down 0.94 percent and the Nasdaq Composite fell just over 1 percent.
By afternoon trading the S&P 500 lost 38.45 points, or 1.39 percent, to 2,723.68 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 72.23 points, or 1 percent, to 7,168.72.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 1.51 percent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 1.52 percent.
Concern over the impact of a tightening job market on the prospects for inflation and a surge in bond yields sent investors fleeing equities on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrials Average dropping almost 666 points – its biggest loss in 20 months.
The Dow fell 2.5 percent on Friday – its biggest one-day sell-off since June 2016.
The S&P 500 had its worst one-day performance since September 2016, and the Nasdaq posted its worst session since August 2017.
The Rest…HERE
