schema:articleBody
| - Wall Street stocks plunged Thursday afternoon, giving back some of the gains won in a torrid August, amid concerns equities had risen unjustifiably high given lingering US economic weakness. Near 1725 GMT, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index had lost 4.7 percent to 11,492.64, pulling back from its first-ever close above 12,000 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.7 percent to 28,324.78, while the broad-based S&P 500 slid 3.4 percent to 3,459.27. Major indices enjoyed their best August in decades this year behind extraordinary government stimulus measures. But analysts have cautioned that the market was due for a pullback given elevated unemployment as the US continues to contend with the coronavirus pandemic. Investors heading into the Labor Day holiday weekend started to cash in on the extraordinary gains. Major tech companies that have led the market higher were among the biggest losers, with Apple shedding 6.6 percent, Amazon 5.2 percent and Microsoft 5.6 percent. The sell-off came after mixed US economic data Thursday that included a report showing slower services sector growth in August, bigger-than-expected drop in new jobless claims, record job cuts this year and an unexpectedly big trade deficit for July. The reports come ahead of Friday's much-anticipated government jobs report for August, which economists expect to show a surge in hiring and a dip in the unemployment rate to below 10 percent. The rally has been propelled by expectations for strong earnings growth in 2021 following fiscal and monetary stimulus measures. But while that outlook may be promising, US unemployment remains exceptionally high following an historic drop in second-quarter growth in the aftermath of coronavirus closures and some analysts warn the market's surge is divorced from economic fundamentals. jmb/hs
|