© 2024 WYSO
Our Community. Our Nation. Our World.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

No Plunge, But Another Down Day On Wall Street

We've followed the stock market through the day and now that it's 4 p.m. ET and the market just closed in New York, we can report that . Other indices were also down modestly.

So, not a nosedive like some recent days, but another pretty sharp decline.

Here's how the market moved through the day (scroll down and read "up" if you prefer chronological order):

3:30 p.m. ET: There was a move lower an hour or so ago and indices remain down — though not too sharply compared to some recent nosedives. The Dow Jones industrial average is off about 160 points, or around 1.5 percent.

2:30 p.m. ET: Some movement. At this moment, the Dow Jones industrial average is down about 120 points, or a little more than 1 percent. Other indices have also edged lower.

1:30 p.m. ET:Still quiet. The Dow Jones industrial average is down about 40 points. Other indices are also still only slightly lower.

And why is this happening today? Bloomberg News says bargain hunters may be helping to shore things up: "U.S. stocks fluctuated between gains and losses as investors weighed growing concern over the global economy and Europe's debt crisis against valuations near the cheapest level since 2009."

12:30 p.m. ET:Three hours in and all remains pretty quiet. The Dow Jones industrial average is down about 50 points and only slightly below Thursday's closes.

11:30 a.m. ET: And after two hours of trading in New York, the ups and downs remain relatively modest. As of now, the Dow Jones industrial average is down about 50 points, or about half a percentage point. .

10:32 a.m. ET: The Dow Jones industrial average is (a little more than half a percentage point). Other indices are also in positive range.

Our original post:

In the first 15 minutes or so of trading on Wall Street, the stock market — as expected — headed south. But the decline was not precipitous. After initially falling about 100 points (around 1 percent), the Dow Jones industrial average recovered some and was off only around 50 points.

As you probably heard, things weren't good on Thursday, when stocks fell sharply. Getting the blame again: Investors' concern about a global economic slowdown. Here's how The Associated Press puts it:

"Global stocks slid ... as fears of a possible U.S. recession combined with ongoing worries over Europe's debt crisis, which is stoking acute fears over the continent's banking sector."

As always when you're dealing with a market that's been pretty volatile, don't read too much into the early returns. We'll check back on what's happening as the day continues and update this post.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.