Stock market today: Wall Street drops as faltering Chinese economy sets off global slide
A sharp drop for Wall Street capped a day of declines worldwide after discouraging data on China raised worries about the global economy
NEW YORK — A sharp drop for Wall Street capped a day of declines around the world Tuesday after discouraging data on China raised worries about the global economy.
The S&P 500 slumped 1.2% for one of its worst drops since the spring after data showed a deepening slump for the world's second-largest economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 361 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.1%.
Coming into this year, the expectation was that China's economy would grow enough after the government removed anti-COVID restrictions to prop up a global economy weakened by high inflation. But China’s recovery has faltered so much that it unexpectedly cut a key interest rate on Tuesday and skipped a report on how many of its younger workers are unemployed.
Worries about the knock-on effects for the rest of the global economy are weighing on Wall Street, where stocks have already been retrenching in August. The pullback follows a gangbusters first seven months of the year that critics called overdone.
In the U.S., the economy has remained more resilient than expected despite higher interest rates. A report on Tuesday showed growth for sales at U.S. retailers accelerated by more in July than economists expected.
“U.S. retail sales are charging ahead, and a lot of that may be on charge cards,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. “Still, the U.S. consumer is showing few signs of slowing down.”
The strong retail sales report raises hopes that the U.S. economy can keep growing and avoid a long-predicted recession. But on the downside for markets, it could also
Read more on abcnews.go.com
