Daily News 8/21/2015
August 21, 2015
Friday – August 21
Stock prices around the globe continue to melt down as global growth fears fuel the selloff. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 are now in negative territory for the year. In addition to the growth fears, U.S. Stocks have been pushing lower ahead of interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve expected in the coming months. Since hitting its all-time closing high of 2,130 back in mid-May, the closely watched S&P 500 is down nearly 6%, while the Dow is down nearly 9% in the same time period.
Manufacturing activity across the U.S. slowed to its slowest pace in almost two years in August, while employment activity edged lower. The August Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index declined to 52.9, the lowest since October 2013. The employment index fell to 52.2, the lowest level seen since July 2014. “August’s survey highlights a lack of growth momentum and continued weak price pressures across the U.S. manufacturing sector, which adds some fuel to the dovish argument as policymakers weigh up tightening policy in September,” said Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit.
