The Dow Chokes on European Debt Worries
Once again, eurozone worries are causing the markets to panic after Fitch lowered Cyprus' credit ranking to junk. In addition, Spanish 10-year note yields are increasing after the Spanish government requested financial assistance to supply much-needed capital for its banking sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) is down 1.3%. Investors are moving their money out of the market, as they do not see an equitable solution coming out of the European Council meetings at the end of the week.
Index | Gain/Loss | Gain/Loss % |
|---|---|---|
Dow Jones Industrial Average | (166) | (1.31%) |
S&P 500 | (24) | (1.81%) |
Nasdaq | (59) | (2.03%) |
WTI Oil Futures | (1.33) | (1.67%) |
Source: Yahoo! Finance.
Despite good housing data released this morning, the broad markets could not avoid the storm coming from overseas, where the European indexes were tossed by the influx of negative debt-related news. Domestically, seasonally adjusted new home sales for May came in at 369,000, beating estimates by 19,000.
To the markets
The Dow components are moving in a predictable manner: Companies most susceptible to economic growth are performing the worst. Alcoa (NYS: AA) is trading down 2.8% so far today. Chevron (NYS: CVX) is experiencing a sizable loss, down 2.1% as crude oil continues its tumble under the $80-per-barrel mark.
Outside of the Dow, Chesapeake Energy (NYS: CHK) has a bit of a double whammy on its hands as the company struggles not only from lower commodity prices, but also from its rogue CEO once again in the news -- this time for allegations of price fixing with a fierce competitor. Reuters published this report earlier today detailing a plot to avoid bidding against Encana (NYS: ECA) for public land in Michigan. Both Chesapeake and Encana are experiencing heavy sell-offs today, down 8.8% and 4.9%, respectively.
Keep a long-term focus
With another European country needing bailout money to stay solvent, look for more days like today in the near future. Although large drops are painful, investors should be focusing on the long term and finding companies they can rely on to return capital in the long term. Now's a great time to check out The Motley Fool's special report: "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich." This free report will list three remarkable companies, as well as offer great advice on how to invest to secure a comfortable retirement -- get your free report now.
The article The Dow Chokes on European Debt Worries originally appeared on Fool.com.
Joel South owns shares of no company listed above. The Motley Fool owns shares of Chesapeake Energy. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Chevron and Chesapeake Energy. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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