Global stocks slide into bear market
Jitters over the global economy and a steep decline in bank stocks knocked U.S. markets lower for the fourth day in a row Thursday.
The latest slump reflected heightened concerns that global economic growth is slowing, even as Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen reiterated her confidence in the U.S. economy in testimony to congress Thursday.
“A lot of people are having trouble assessing the true value of stocks,” said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade.
Financial companies were among the biggest decliners amid growing anxiety that interest rates in the U.S. and elsewhere would remain low and sap bank profits.
Investors have been worried that the mounting market turmoil could put a brake on the global economy when it is already struggling with China’s slowdown, low inflation and plunging energy markets.
Yellen, in her second day of testimony before lawmakers Thursday, acknowledged that global pressures pose risks to the U.S. economy, but she told the Senate Banking Committee that it’s too early to tell whether those risks are severe enough to alter the central bank’s interest rate policies.
West Texas Intermediate crude, the benchmark for U.S. oil futures, fell for the sixth day in a row, sliding $1.24, or 4.5 percent, to $26.21 per barrel in New York.
The drop in oil and natural gas prices sent shares in several energy companies lower.
Boeing plunged 6.8 percent following a report that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the aircraft manufacturer over accounting practices.
Traders bid up shares in TripAdvisor after the travel website operator’s fourth-quarter profit and revenue topped estimates.
Tesla Motors climbed 4.7 percent after the electric car maker said its lower-priced Model 3 sedan is on schedule for 2017 release.