US stocks pare steep losses Tri-County

It was down as much as 565 earlier. The Dow and Nasdaq both dropped more than 2 percent in the morning, and the Stoxx Europe also fell around 2 percent. At 12:56 a.m. ET the Dow Jones industrial average was down 472.46 points, or 2.95 percent, at 15,543.56. The Nasdaq lost 150 points, or 3.4 percent, to 4,325. US corporate earnings are unlikely to offer relief: S&P 500 earnings on average are expected to fall 4.4 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data. The S&P 500.SPX was down 53.24 points, or 2.83 percent, at 1,828.09, within touching distance of its October 2014 low. On the Nasdaq, 1,551 issues fell and 1,331 advanced. Although recent sharp declines in Chinese stock prices often have triggered sell-offs on global stock markets, on Wednesday the benchmark Shanghai composite index dropped a relatively modest 1 percent. Wall Street moved deep into the red on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 hitting its lowest since February 2014 and extending this year's selloff as oil prices continued to plummet unabated. Japan's Nikkei fell 3.7 per cent and is down more than 20 per cent from its June peak. Stocks in the US started sharply lower following widespread selling overseas, and looked like they were headed for huge losses. The risk premium on the Markit CDX North American Investment Grade Yield Index, a credit-default swaps benchmark tied to the debt of 100 of the safest companies, surged to 112.47 basis points, the most in more than three years. The S&P 500 has sunk 21 points, or 1.1 per cent. Renewed concerns over China's slowing economy and the steep drop in oil prices have been blamed for the market whiplash. The price of USA crude oil sank 7 percent and is trading at its lowest level since May 2003. The Australian dollar slid 0.5 per cent to 68.78 USA cents, extending this year's decline to 5.6 per cent. The kiwi touched the weakest level since September 30. Financial stocks were also hit because banks could lose billions on loans to oil and gas companies. METALS: The price of gold rose $17.10, or 1.6 percent, to $1,106.20. Technical analysts define a "bear market" as one in which the index falls more than 20 per cent from its previous peak. Permits fell by an even greater 3.9% to a SAAR of 1.1232 million from a revised 1.282 million in November. Netflix NFLX.O was also swept up by the downbeat sentiment, dropping 1.5 percent despite reporting better-than-expected growth in its subscriber base. Tri-County Sun Times http://thevillagessuntimes.com/2016/01/21/us-stocks-pare-steep-losses-dow-1/