Stocks skid on renewed fears of global slowdown
June 29th, 2010 | Published in News
Stocks and interest rates tumble on fears that recovery will fade; Consumer confidence slumps
Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer, On Tuesday June 29, 2010, 5:58 pm EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — No matter where they look, investors are seeing economic trouble.
Stocks and interest rates plunged Tuesday after signs of slowing economies from China to the U.S. spooked traders who were already uneasy about a global recovery. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 268 points, or 2.7 percent, and dropped below 10,000. The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 3.1 percent to close at its lowest level since October.
Interest rates fell in the Treasury market after demand for the safety of government debt grew. The yield on the 10-year note dropped to 2.95 percent, the first time it has fallen below 3 percent since April 2009, when the markets were in the early stages of their recovery from the financial crisis. The yield is used as a benchmark for many consumer loans and mortgages. The yield on the two-year note hit a new low.