Wall Street Plunges Over 2% As Gold Surges Past $1,680 Per Ounce

Gold Surges Past $1,680 Per Ounce

And Wall Street has plunged over 2%.

Wall Street Plunges Over 2 Percent

Stocks fell sharply Thursday as investors grew more concerned about economic weakness in the U.S. and Europe.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index sank 2.6 percent, bringing it 10 percent below its recent high of 1,363 reached on April 29. A decline of 10 percent is considered to be a market correction. The Dow Jones industrial average is now down more than 1,000 points from July 21.
The U.S. government said before the market opened that the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits for the first time edged only slightly lower last week to 400,000. That’s still above the 375,000 level that economist say indicates a healthy job market. It was the latest indication of weakness in the U.S. economy.
European stocks fell broadly because of concerns that Italy or Spain may need help from the European Union. The benchmark stock indexes in Italy, Germany and England each fell 3 percent.
“We are continuing to be bombarded by worries about the global economy,” said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Financial. Some traders are selling ahead of Friday’s employment report, which is expected to show that unemployment remained at 9.2 percent last month. A rise in the unemployment number would likely push stocks lower again.
Thursday started as another big sell-off on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 244 points, or 2 percent, to 11,652 in late morning trading. The S&P 500 lost 29, or 2.6 percent, to 1,231. The Nasdaq composite shed 71, or 2.6 percent, to 2,621.
Investors poured money into investments that are seen as relatively safe places to park cash when markets are turbulent. Gold rose 1 percent to $1,680 an ounce. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.52 percent, its lowest level of the year. Bond yields fall when demand for them increases.
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Source: Yahoo Finance