Unlike what happened two months ago, yesterday's stock market plunge in China had relatively little impact on markets in the US. Reuters reports:
U.S. stocks ended nearly flat on Thursday as a rally in health-care shares after earnings from companies such as Schering-Plough Corp. offset worries China may take steps that reduce demand for U.S. goods...
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 4.79 points, or 0.04 percent, to close at 12,808.63, a record. But the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 1.77 points, or 0.12 percent, at 1,470.73. And the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 5.15 points, or 0.21 percent, at 2,505.35...
Oil's drop, however, helped support the broader market. U.S. crude oil futures for May delivery slid $1.30 to settle at $61.83 a barrel as rising refinery production and the restart of a key pipeline eased worries of a U.S. fuel supply crunch.
Meanwhile, economic reports yesterday point to continuing slow growth ahead for the US economy. Again from Reuters:
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said on Thursday its business activity index was at 0.2 in April, sharply below economists' forecasts for a reading of 2.0.
The index was at 0.2 in March...
Further evidence of slowing economic growth was provided by the New York-based Conference Board, which said the U.S. Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose 0.1 percent in March, as expected, after declining 0.6 percent in February and 0.3 percent in January...
Initial filings for state unemployment insurance aid fell to 339,000 in the week ended April 14 from a slightly upwardly revised 343,000 for the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department said. Economists had expected a far larger decline.
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