http://www.thestreet.com/story/13211658/1/stocks-sink-as-markets-in-china-tumble.html?kval=dontmiss
NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- First Greece, then China. And now a computer glitch?
As if investors didn't have enough to worry about, the New York Stock Exchange halted trading in all securities at midday Wednesday in what appears to be technical problems with the trading system. The halt began at 11:32 a.m. EDT. Reports said the NYSE was working on a major technical issue.
The S&P 500 declined 1.12%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.98%, or 174 points, and the Nasdaq was off by 1.33%.
The Shanghai Composite lost 5.9% on Wednesday and has dropped more than 31% since its high in mid-June; the Shenzhen index lost 2.5%. Chinese officials suspended trading for 40% of listed stocks, after prior interest rate cuts failed to stop the bleeding.
"For now the Chinese leadership is pulling out all the stops to ensure the equity market does not go into free fall," wrote Eric Green, head of U.S. rates & economic research at TD Securities, in a note. "The 105% rise in stock prices over the past 7 months has now been followed by a 28% correction. Neither had anything to do with underlying economic fundamentals. What we do know is that most of the volume is driven by domestic retail money (80% of volume), and foreign exposure is minimal."
Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 5.84%, while Tokyo's Nikkei on Wednesday shed 3.14%.
Meanwhile, European leaders set a new Sunday deadline for Greece to come up with tougher reform proposals. The debt-laden country is reportedly asking for a three-year bailout in exchange for the reforms that could be implemented by Greece as soon as next week. A deal could allow Greece to make its July 20 payment to the European Central Bank.
Stocks in Europe rose on the news. London's FTSE 100 gained 0.55%, Frankfurt's DAX rose 0.49% while Paris's CAC gained 0.74%.
NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- First Greece, then China. And now a computer glitch?
As if investors didn't have enough to worry about, the New York Stock Exchange halted trading in all securities at midday Wednesday in what appears to be technical problems with the trading system. The halt began at 11:32 a.m. EDT. Reports said the NYSE was working on a major technical issue.
The S&P 500 declined 1.12%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.98%, or 174 points, and the Nasdaq was off by 1.33%.
The Shanghai Composite lost 5.9% on Wednesday and has dropped more than 31% since its high in mid-June; the Shenzhen index lost 2.5%. Chinese officials suspended trading for 40% of listed stocks, after prior interest rate cuts failed to stop the bleeding.
"For now the Chinese leadership is pulling out all the stops to ensure the equity market does not go into free fall," wrote Eric Green, head of U.S. rates & economic research at TD Securities, in a note. "The 105% rise in stock prices over the past 7 months has now been followed by a 28% correction. Neither had anything to do with underlying economic fundamentals. What we do know is that most of the volume is driven by domestic retail money (80% of volume), and foreign exposure is minimal."
Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 5.84%, while Tokyo's Nikkei on Wednesday shed 3.14%.
Meanwhile, European leaders set a new Sunday deadline for Greece to come up with tougher reform proposals. The debt-laden country is reportedly asking for a three-year bailout in exchange for the reforms that could be implemented by Greece as soon as next week. A deal could allow Greece to make its July 20 payment to the European Central Bank.
Stocks in Europe rose on the news. London's FTSE 100 gained 0.55%, Frankfurt's DAX rose 0.49% while Paris's CAC gained 0.74%.
