中国的股市距离规范运作还差几个光年, 但是其辐射力已经凸现。昨晚上海亏了9%, 今天道琼斯已经快跌破200点。
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China sell-off weighs on US stocks
Tuesday February 27, 11:25 am ET
By Alex Barker
Wall Street stocks opened broadly lower but stabilised by mid-morning on Tuesday, after a slump in China's main stock index encouraged investors to buy less risky assets.
The S&P 500 index fell 1.1 per cent to 1,432.98, dragged down by materials, financial and consumer discretionary stocks.
Meanwhile the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.1 per cent to 12,497.11. The Nasdaq Composite was 1.6 per cent lower at 2,465.49.
The Shanghai Composite dropped about 9 per cent on concerns over valuations and fears that authorities may introduce controls on stock market speculation. The falls, the biggest seen on the Shanghai index for a decade, weighed on global equity markets.
The falls hit stocks of US materials groups that are exposed to the Chinese market. The S&P Materials Index fell by 2 per cent with Alcoa (NYSE:AA), the aluminium group, 2.8 per cent lower at $34.36.
Those hoping that the housing market had hit bottom were given little to cheer this morning with a mixed set of home sales figures that showed that larger-than-expected fall in prices. A Standard & Poor's index showed that single-family home prices across the nation were flat in December.
The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales climbed in January by the largest amount in two years, but median home prices fell for a sixth straight month.
The disappointing figures sent shares in homebuilders DR Horton down 2.7 per cent to $26.11 and Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) down 2.9 per cent to 30.74.
The wider concerns about the market as a result of the slump in Chinese stocks dragged on financial groups. Shares in Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH) fell 3.75 per cent to $74.91 and Bear Stearns were 2.9 per cent to $153.58.
Orders for US durable goods in January fell 7.8 per cent, worse than an expected 3.2 per cent decline. Non-defence goods orders, excluding aircraft fell by 6 per cent. The news boosted Treasury prices and sparked further selling of the dollar.
A bombing outside a US base at which Dick Cheney, the vice president, was staying and further uncompromising comments from Iran over its uranium enrichment programme also unsettled investors.
The Nasdaq was dragged down by Apple announcing that it was delaying the release of its Apple TV product until mid-March. Its shares fell 2 per cent to $86.88 in pre-market trading.
There was additional downward pressure from Qualcomm's stock, which slipped 3.3 per cent to $41.24 on concerns about its court case against Nokia.
Analysts at Lehman Brothers reduced their rating on Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW), arguing that the company was overvalued because of speculation over private equity interest in the group. Its shares eased 1.1 per cent to $44.51.
Shares in Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) slipped 1.2 per cent to $49.40 in after it agreed to buy a 35 per cent stake in Trust-Mart, a Taiwanese-owned retailer that operates in China.
Shares of Xerox (NYSE:XRX) were lower after the group said it expected to take a charge of 3 cents per share in the first quarter related to a joint venture with Fujifilm. Its shares were down 1.5 per cent at $17.64.
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(c) 2010 Maya Chilam Foundation