US stocks plunge following global rout

New York: US stocks extended losses in the morning session Tuesday as a renewed broad-based sell-off around the world rattled nervous investors. By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 314.56 points (1.90 percent), to 16,213.47. The S&P 500 dropped 36.43 points (1.85 percent), to 1,935.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 67.98 points (1.42 percent), to 4,708.52. Tokyo equities dived with its benchmark Nikkei stocks index plunging 3.84 percent on Tuesday amid weak performances in other stocks markets.

Chinese shares slumped for a second day on Tuesday on weak economic data, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dipping 1.23 percent to end at 3,166.62 points. China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 49.7 in August, down from 50 for July and the lowest since August 2012, according to official data released Tuesday morning. European stocks also traded sharply lower as the heavy falls across the board weighed on market sentiment.

Adding more pessimism to the market, US economic data came out negative. The US August manufacturing PMI registered 51.1 percent, missing market consensus of 52.8 percent and a decrease of 1.6 percentage points from the July reading of 52.7 percent, said the Institute Supply Management (ISM) Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Department of Commerce announced on Tuesday that construction spending during July 2015 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,083.4 billion US dollars, 0. 7 percent above the revised June estimate, slightly below market expectations. On Monday, US stocks declined as recent economic data fueled speculations that the Federal Reserve would begin raising interest rates from September.

(IANS)