U.S. stock markets in sharp retreat as buyers abandon ship

NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks markets came off sharply on Tuesday, down from record highs for the Dow Jones and Standard and Poor's 500 attained on Monday. Oil prices weakened as Israel indicated it was no longer considering targeting Iran's oil fields in its proposed retaliatory attack following a barrage of 180 missiles fired at the Jewish state by Iran on 1 October.

Nvidia and other chip makers dropped sharply Tuesday as news spread that the Biden administration was considering restricting the sale of chips overseas. Nvidia at one point was down five percent, this after hitting a record high on Monday. Nvidia shares closed Tuesday at $131.84, down $6.24 or 4.5 percent.

Trump Media was another stock to experience volatility. After climbing more than 13 percent earlier in the day, trading in the stock had to be halted when it suddenly reversed course and dived six percent. The stock closed at $27.06, for a loss on the day of $2.89 or 9.65 percent.

The Standard and Poor's 500 dropped by 44.59 points, or 0.76 percent, to close at 5,815.26. The decline was fueled by weakness across multiple sectors, with market volume reaching 2.803 billion shares traded.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell, losing 324.80 points, or 0.75 percent, to finish at 42,740.42. The blue-chip index saw heavy selling pressure throughout the day, with a total volume of 359.067 million shares traded.

The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite took the hardest hit, declining by 187.10 points, or 1.01 percent, to close at 18,315.59. The technology sector faced significant headwinds, contributing to the index's losses, with a total volume of 5.751 billion shares traded.

Global Foreign Exchange Market Update for Tuesday

The global foreign exchange market showed mixed movements on Tuesday, with several major currency pairs experiencing slight declines against the US dollar, while the British pound posted a modest gain.

The Euro fell against the US dollar, with the EUR/USD pair last trading at 1.0887, down by 0.19 percent.

The US dollar weakened against the Japanese yen, with the USD/JPY pair easing to 149.21, a decline of 0.36 percent.

In North America, the US dollar also saw a minor decrease against the Canadian dollar, with the USD/CAD pair closing at 1.3781, down by 0.09 percent.

The British pound made modest gains against the US dollar, with the GBP/USD pair rising by 0.07 percent to 1.3067, as the pound showed resilience amid global economic conditions.

The US dollar was nearly flat against the Swiss franc, with the USD/CHF pair settling at 0.8622, down by just 0.01 percent.

In the Oceania region, the Australian dollar weakened against the US dollar, with the AUD/USD pair falling to 0.6700, down by 0.39 percent.

Similarly, the New Zealand dollar also declined against the US dollar, with the NZD/USD pair reaching 0.6079, a drop of 0.24 percent.

The US Dollar Index dipped slightly by 0.03 percent to 103.27

Overall, the foreign exchange market saw mixed performance, with the US dollar posting slight losses against most major currencies, except for the British pound, which showed a modest gain.

Global Stock Markets and Currency Indices Close Mostly Lower on Tuesday

Stock markets worldwide saw mixed performances on Tuesday, with several indices closing in the red. European indices led the declines, while markets in the Asia-Pacific region showed some resilience.

CANADA

In Canada, the S&P/TSX Composite Index experienced a more modest decline, closing down by 32.09 points, or 0.13 percent, at 24,439.08. Despite the relatively minor drop, market volume remained steady at 277.917 million shares traded.

UNITED KINGDOM

In London, the FTSE 100 closed at 8,249.28, down by 43.38 points or 0.52 percent.

EUROPE

The DAX Performance Index in Germany also declined, ending the session at 19,486.19, a drop of 22.10 points or 0.11 percent.

France's CAC 40 fell sharply by 80.09 points, closing at 7,521.97, marking a 1.05 percent decline.

Meanwhile, the pan-European ESTX 50 closed lower by 94.28 points, finishing at 4,946.73, down by 1.87 percent.

The Euronext 100 Index also experienced a significant drop, losing 29.70 points, or 1.97 percent, to close at 1,477.02.

Belgium's BEL 20 was a rare positive performer in Europe, gaining 5.16 points or 0.12 percent to close at 4,315.69.

ASIA

In the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index suffered a sharp loss, closing at 20,318.79, down by 774.08 points, or 3.67 percent.

Japan's Nikkei 225 surged by 304.75 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 39,910.55, while China's SSE Composite Index dropped appreciably by 83.03 points, or 2.53 percent, to finish at 3,201.29.

The falls in Hong Kong and China followed the release of China's latest trade data on Monday night. While China maintains a sharply positive trade surplus, theoverall data fell well short of expectations.

South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index gained 10.16 points, or 0.39 percent, finishing at 2,633.45.

The Taiwanese TSEC Weighted Index showed a strong performance, closing up by 316.75 points, or 1.38 percent, at 23,292.04.

In Southeast Asia, Singapore's STI Index remained relatively flat, closing slightly lower by 0.44 points, or 0.01 percent, at 3,595.47.

In India, the S&P BSE Sensex dipped by 152.93 points, or 0.19 percent, closing at 81,820.12, while Indonesia's IDX Composite gained 67.30 points, or 0.89 percent, to end at 7,626.95.

Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI saw modest gains, closing at 1,641.97, up by 5.43 points, or 0.33 percent.

OCEANIA

Australia's markets fared better, with the S&P/ASX 200 rising by 65.60 points, or 0.79 percent, to close at 8,318.40.

The broader Australian All Ordinaries also increased, adding 69.10 points, or 0.81 percent, to finish at 8,598.60.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index rose by 74.02 points, or 0.58 percent, to close at 12,840.77.

MIDDLE EAST

Israel's TA-125 rose by 13.81 points, or 0.65 percent, to close at 2,132.25.

Egypt's EGX 30 saw solid gains, adding 311.10 points, or 1.03 percent, to close at 30,584.20.

AFRICA

In South Africa the JNOU.IO Top 40 USD Net TRI Index shed 38.79 points or 0.81 percent to close Tuesday at 4,750.08.

Overall, global markets experienced volatility, with European markets facing notable losses and Asian markets showing a mix of gains and declines.

Related story:

Monday 14 October 2024 | Wall Street at historic new highs, Dow Jones up 201 points | Big News Network