MARKET MELTDOWN: Stocks Tank Again After Flirting With Gains
*By Carlo Versano*
Stocks were back to significant losses by late Thursday morning after briefly going positive in early trading. Wednesday's sell-off spilled over into global markets ー first in Asia, where all the major indices were down at least 3 percent, then to Europe, where markets were lower by around a percent in afternoon trading.
The Dow Industrials were down nearly 300 points by 11 a.m. ET. The Nasdaq and S&P were off by about a percent, and the Russell 2000 briefly entered correction territory.
The spread of red ink -- the S&P was down for its sixth straight day -- suggested more turbulence ahead for Wall Street, where a growing list of concerns is sowing unrest for a market that has been on a historic run on the back of strong earnings.
Wednesday's rout, in which the Dow finished down more than 800 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost four percent, started with worry over creeping inflation and tightening Fed policy and quickly turned into an all-out sell-off, with high-flying tech stocks taking the most serious beating.
Amazon ($AMZN) was the biggest loser in the sector, losing more than $56 billion in market cap on Wednesday alone. The much-watched FAANG stocks, which also include Facebook ($FB), Apple ($AAPL), Netflix ($NFLX), and Google parent Alphabet ($GOOGL), shed a combined $175 billion in value ー about the entire market cap of Citigroup ($C).
It was the worst day for stocks in eight months, and the fifth-straight down day for the S&P.
President Trump, who's been quick to tout recent record highs in the market as a result of his economic and foreign policy, took this opportunity to criticize the Fed, calling the central bank "loco" for increasing rates.
The U.S. trade war with China has largely been brushed off by the markets, but the slide shows it may finally be taking a toll. Tech stocks were the biggest losers in China Thursday, with names like Tencent and Xiaomi leading the decline.
Thursday's sell-off only adds to what's already been a rough month for U.S. stocks. The Dow is down more than 3 percent already in October, while the S&P 500 is down over 4 percent. The Nasdaq has fallen nearly 8 percent.
Orangetheory Fitness is redefining the future of workouts with smarter tech, strength-based programming, and community-driven studios built for what’s next.
Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
