U.S. equities finished lower, but well off the deep hole the markets were mired in early on, as selloffs in Europe and Asia, and softer-than-expected earnings reports from Dow members 3M and Caterpillar exacerbated already-skittish global sentiment. Treasury yields fell and the U.S. dollar dipped following a surprising drop in a read of regional manufacturing activity, crude oil prices tumbled to their lowest level since August on Saudi Arabia’s pledge to pump as much oil as it can, and gold was higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 126 points (0.5%) to 25,191, the S&P 500 Index decreased 15 points (0.6%) to 2,741, and the NASDAQ Composite lost 31 points (0.4%) to 7,437. In heavy volume, 973 million shares were traded on the NYSE and 2.7 billion shares changed hands on the NASDAQ. WTI crude oil tumbled $2.93 to $66.43 per barrel and wholesale gasoline was $0.07 lower at $1.84 per gallon. Elsewhere, the Bloomberg gold spot price increased $8.64 to $1,230.74 per ounce, and the Dollar Index—a comparison of the U.S. dollar to six major world currencies—was 0.1% lower at 95.96 .
Treasuries were higher, as the yields on the 2-year and the 10-year notes declined 4 basis points (bps) to 2.87% and 3.16%, respectively, and the 30-year bond rate declined 3 bps to 3.36%. The U.S. dollar dipped after a recent run, with the global markets looking skittish after some disappointing earnings in the U.S. and festering geopolitical concerns.
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