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US stocks drop over 2% amid Europe sell-off
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Topics:Stocks On Saturday 10 September 2011, 0:07
US stocks dropped sharply in midday trading on Friday, amid worries over Europe's debt crisis and skepticism over whether President Barack Obama's job-creation plan can pass Congress.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 292.13 points (2.59 percent) to 11,003.68 at 1600 GMT.
Meanwhile, the broader S&P 500 fell 29.55 points (2.49 percent) to 1,156.35 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 53.94 points (2.13 percent) to 2,475.20.
US stocks opened with losses, and the sell-off accelerated after the sudden news that the European Central Bank's chief economist, Juergen Stark, was resigning "for personal reasons".
The ECB's announcement sent European markets into a tailspin and added to anxieties about Europe's handling of its sovereign debt crisis, which has weighed heavily on markets in recent weeks.
In the United States, the jobs plan unveiled by Obama on Thursday evening received good reviews from economists, with Macroeconomic Advisers saying it would boost US gross domestic product (GDP) by 1.3 percent in 2012.
But analysts voiced skepticism that the plan could pass a deeply divided Congress, with the House of Representatives controlled by opposition Republicans.
"Everything the president said sounded on point, but the overriding point for the market is that none of this means anything unless Congress says it does," said Patrick O'Hare, an analyst with Briefing.com.
tweet0
Topics:Stocks On Saturday 10 September 2011, 0:07
US stocks dropped sharply in midday trading on Friday, amid worries over Europe's debt crisis and skepticism over whether President Barack Obama's job-creation plan can pass Congress.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 292.13 points (2.59 percent) to 11,003.68 at 1600 GMT.
Meanwhile, the broader S&P 500 fell 29.55 points (2.49 percent) to 1,156.35 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 53.94 points (2.13 percent) to 2,475.20.
US stocks opened with losses, and the sell-off accelerated after the sudden news that the European Central Bank's chief economist, Juergen Stark, was resigning "for personal reasons".
The ECB's announcement sent European markets into a tailspin and added to anxieties about Europe's handling of its sovereign debt crisis, which has weighed heavily on markets in recent weeks.
In the United States, the jobs plan unveiled by Obama on Thursday evening received good reviews from economists, with Macroeconomic Advisers saying it would boost US gross domestic product (GDP) by 1.3 percent in 2012.
But analysts voiced skepticism that the plan could pass a deeply divided Congress, with the House of Representatives controlled by opposition Republicans.
"Everything the president said sounded on point, but the overriding point for the market is that none of this means anything unless Congress says it does," said Patrick O'Hare, an analyst with Briefing.com.
