New York (AFP)
The New York Stock Exchange ended sharply lower on Monday, weakened by growing worries about the global economy as China now faces the trade war with the United States and tensions in Hong Kong.
Its flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, lost 1.49% to 25,896.44 points.
The Nasdaq fell 1.20% to 7,863.41 points and the broad S & P 500 index of 1.23% to 2,882.69 points.
After several shady sessions last week, this new dive "is caused by a renewed uncertainty about the situation in China, which must now lead two battles front, the trade war with the United States and the protests in Hong Kong" , advance Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investment. "This greatly complicates the situation."
Hong Kong has been plunged since early June into its worst political crisis since the surrender of the territory by London to China in 1997.
And Hong Kong airport on Monday made the extremely rare decision to cancel all its flights after thousands of pro-democracy protesters invaded the arrivals hall, while Beijing muscled its speech, saying their movements were "signs of terrorism ".
"The market is worried about possible ramifications of Chinese difficulties on the global economy," said Sarhan.
Reflecting these concerns, the US 10-year debt rate collapsed again Monday at 1.641% against 1.745% Friday night, a sign of strong demand for this asset considered a safe bet.
In this context, "several large banks have changed their expectations (...) and have revised up the risk of a recession by the presidential election of 2020" in the United States, said Mr. Sarhan. "It really changes the dynamics in the markets."
The defeat of outgoing Liberal President Mauricio Macri in Argentina's primary elections also caught the attention of investors, with the Latin America's Third-Stock Exchange collapsing by 37.01% at closing.
© 2019 AFP