Markets Plummet Amid Interest Rate Fears and EBay System Crash

Strategic Insights -

The major stock indexes witnessed a downturn, plummeting to their lowest levels due to heightened fears of an impending interest rate boost. This morning's strong jobless report further exacerbated the situation, causing the Dow industrials to sharply decline. The Dow dropped by nearly 80 points, reaching a value of just under 10,716. Meanwhile, the 30-year Treasury bond saw a significant decline, with its yield increasing to 6.13 percent. The Nasdaq index also took a hit, with the August gold price seeing a slight increase.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Dow industrials plummeted by almost 80 points, reaching a value of just under 10,716.
  • The 30-year Treasury bond fell, with its yield increasing to 6.13 percent.
  • The Nasdaq index saw a decline, with the August gold price experiencing a slight increase.
  • American Home Products was hit with a $23 million dollar judgement in a fen-phen case.
  • Ford's new Excursion, despite its initial bad press, has garnered over 28,000 orders before its release.
  • EBay's computer system crashed, crippling its services and causing a significant loss.
  • The strong jobless report contributed to the market's decline.

Statistics:

  • The Dow industrials dropped by 80 points.
  • The 30-year Treasury bond's yield increased to 6.13 percent.
  • The Nasdaq index fell by close to 16 points.
  • Over 28,000 orders have been placed for Ford's new Excursion.
  • The August gold price increased by 40 cents.
  • eBay's computer system crash resulted in a 22-hour outage, costing the company almost $4 million.
  • The dollar closed at 1.0745 against the euro and 114.95 against the yen.
  • The New York Exchange confirmed a volume of over 848 million shares.

Sources:

  • COMTEX (http://www.comtexnews.com)
  • New York Exchange Composite index
  • Dow industrials
  • Standard and Poor's 500-stock index
  • 30-year Treasury bond
  • Ford
  • eBay
  • American Home Products
  • Nasdaq