U.S. stocks posted massive losses on Monday, with the Dow falling more than 1,100 points and the S&P seeing its worst day in six years. Asian markets appeared set to mirror much of that action in Tuesday trade.
The sell off in U.S. stock markets was a continuation of Friday’s weakness as investors rushed for the exits in the wake of rising interest rates.
The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 1,175.21 points, or 4.6 percent, to close at 24,345.75, breaking below the 25,000 level. The 30-stock index briefly declined more than 1,500 points on Monday and traveled more than 5,100 points during the session.
Other major indexes also recorded losses on the day: The S&P 500 lost 4.1 percent to finish at 2,468.94 and the Nasdaq composite fell 3.78 percent to finish the session at 6,967.53.
“There was no specific catalyst outside of stops being triggered at 25,000 and when that happened, the Dow briefly plunged below 24,000, but concerns about the negative impact of rising yields have been the primary driver of the sell-off that began on Friday,” Kathy Lien, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management, said in a note.
Correspondingly, U.S. government bond prices rose overnight on safe-haven demand. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note last stood at 2.7093 percent after rising as high as 2.88 percent on Monday.
