Stocks fell on Tuesday as concerns about a possible recession in the U.S. weighed on investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrials collapsed 626.03 points, or 2%, to 30.471.23.
The S&P 500 sagged 79.43 points, or 2%, to 3,745.90.
The NASDAQ Composite plunged 191.63 points, or 1.7%, to 10.936.21.
U.S. markets were closed Monday for the 4th of July.
Stocks tied to economic growth fell sharply on Tuesday. Shares of JPMorgan and Wells Fargo shed 2.5% and 2.7%, respectively. American Airlines fell more than 4%. Machinery stocks Deere and Caterpillar hit their lowest levels of the year.
Shares of Ford fell nearly 5% after the automaker’s second-quarter sales rose more slowly than expected.
Concerns about economic growth are hanging over investors as the U.S. market looks to recover after a rough first half to the year. Some economists believe U.S. GDP declined for both quarters to start the year, which is a shorthand used by many to signal a recession.
The price of oil also declined, reflecting a possible economic slowdown. Futures for U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell below $105 per barrel. Shares of oil giant Chevron dropped nearly 3%.
Among major tech stocks, Amazon fell more than 2% and electric automaker Tesla slid 3.7%.
In this shortened holiday week, investors are looking ahead to the release of June jobs report data on Friday. According to Dow Jones
estimates, job growth likely slowed in June with 250,000 nonfarm payrolls added, down from 390,000 in May. Economists surveyed expect
the unemployment rate to hold at 3.6%.
This week’s economic calendar also includes Wednesday’s release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting. May factory orders are expected for Tuesday, with earnings from WD-40 and Levi Strauss scheduled for Friday.
Treasury prices poked slightly higher, lowering yields to 2.82% from Friday’s 2.83%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost $5.31 to $103.12 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices retreated $14.80 to $1,786.70 U.S. an ounce.
