Wall Street dips following selloff in European, Asian stocks
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E-mail Xinhua, June 7, 2013
U.S. stocks extended losses on Thursday after Wednesday's plunge, as European and Asian stocks dropped across the board.
European stocks finished in the red territory on Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB) left its key interest rate unchanged at 0.5 percent and the Bank of England also kept its bond buying programs unchanged.
ECB President Mario Draghi said in a news conference Thursday that the central bank continued to see downside risks surrounding the economic outlook for the euro area.
Asian stocks also saw an across-the-board decline on Thursday, with the Japanese benchmark Nikkei falling 0.85 percent.
On the economic front, in the week ending June 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 346,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 357,000, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. The reading was almost in line with market consensus.
The four-week moving average, a smoother indicator, was 352,500, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week's revised average of 348,000, it added.
Investors will be paying close attention to the May nonfarm payroll report from the Labor Department, due out on Friday, to try to get a hint on whether the Federal Reserve would scale back its bond purchases earlier than expected.
Stock volatility has increased in the recent couple of weeks thanks to investors' continuing speculation on the Fed's quantitative easing policy. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered as a fear gauge of the market, traded over 17.
Separately, U.S. monthly job cuts declined for the third consecutive month in May, according to consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas on Thursday. U.S.-based employers announced plans to trim payrolls by 36,398 during the month, 4.5 percent fewer than 38,121 cuts in April.
On Wednesday, a report showed the U.S. private sector added fewer jobs than expected, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to close below the important psychological level of 15,000 points for the first time since May 6.
In corporate news, PepsiCo shares shed 0.34 percent to 80.92 U. S. dollars in midday trading as the company denied a report that it was in talks to buy out Israel's SodaStream International, which makes carbonated drinks from tap water.
In midday trading, the Dow lost 41.77 points, or 0.28 percent, to 14,918.82 points. The S&P 500 ticked down 1.07 points, or 0.07 percent, to 1,607.83 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 3.68 points, or 0.11 percent, to 3,397.80 points. Endi
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