Wall Street falls at open amid global slowdown fears

Just like the Asian and European stocks earlier today, the Wall Street shares have also fallen on open amid fear of a global economic slowdown.

Tech stocks Microsoft and Apple were under pressure, both down around 1.3 per cent, while Tesla fell eight per cent after cutting prices of its vehicles by $2,000.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is now 351.9 points or 1.5% down to 22,975.52. Oil and gas giant ExxonMobil tops the losers, with its price flat at $68.19. Media reports say the firm is on track to have its worst annual performance since 1981.

The S&P 500 is flat – just 21.1 points or 0.9% ahead to 2,506.85. Top of the winners is the Cboe Options Exchange, which rose 1.6% to $97.65.

Weak global cues dent Dalal Street. #Sensex slides over 360 points. #Nifty gives up 10,800 to fall below its 200-day moving average. #WallStreet opens for trade with sharp cuts, Dow falls more than 350 points lower. Details at 9 PM on India Biz Hour | @ShereenBhan pic.twitter.com/rsGnZY4CMJ

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) January 2, 2019

“Stock markets didn’t get the memo that we’re supposed to start the new year with a positive attitude towards being fit and healthy,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“A slowdown in China’s manufacturing sector hurt stocks in Asia and also added to investor concerns about a global economic slowdown in 2019, leading to weakness across European markets.”