Monday brought out the blues, as economic and market news were mostly gloomy.
The US housing market remains in the doldrums. From Reuters:
Home builder sentiment was stuck at a record low in August, as stringent lending and a flood of foreclosed homes dragged on the real estate market, according to data from the National Association of Home Builders released on Monday.
The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market index held at 16 in August for a second straight month, the group said in a statement.
The UK housing market is fast following in the same footsteps. Reuters reports:
House prices fell 4.8 percent year-on-year in August, a survey by property Web site Rightmove showed on Monday, the fastest fall since the series began six years ago.
Rightmove said property prices fell by 2.3 percent, or 5,403 pounds on the month in August, bringing the average asking price down to 229,816.
The pessimism appears to have infected stock investors yesterday. From Bloomberg:
U.S. stocks declined the most in more than a week, led by banking and real estate shares, as growing speculation the government will bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rattled the mortgage market...
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 19.60 points, or 1.5 percent, to 1,278.60 as 23 of 24 industry groups declined. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 180.51, or 1.6 percent, to 11,479.39 as all 30 companies fell. The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 35.54, or 1.5 percent, to 2,416.98. Seven stocks dropped for every two that advanced on the New York Stock Exchange.
However, it was the Chinese stock market that saw the more dramatic fall yesterday. Bloomberg reports:
China's stocks plunged, extending an 18-month low, on concern the government will avoid introducing measures to boost the world's worst-performing market this year...
The CSI 300 Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares listed on China's two exchanges, declined 134.21, or 5.5 percent, to 2,313.40 at the close, the lowest since Feb. 5, 2007. About 60 of the gauge's 300 companies fell by the maximum daily limit.
1 comment:
There is no reason why China should be immune to the global slowdown. labour is becoming more expensive and someone has to pay the bills for the Olympics Infrustructure Development
Penny Stocks
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