World stock markets continued a week-long sell-off on Friday as the threat of a U. S. government shutdown and further hikes in U. S. borrowing costs compounded investor anxiety that global economic growth is slowing.
NEW YORK (Reuters) — World stock markets continued a week-long sell-off on Friday as the threat of a U. S. government shutdown and further hikes in U. S. borrowing costs compounded investor anxiety that global economic growth is slowing.
MSCI’s index of global equities. MIWD00000PUS fell 0.5 percent, dragged down by broad declines in Europe and Asia. On Wall Street, U. S. stocks initially moved higher after Commerce Department data showed the U. S. economy is on pace to grow by 3 percent this year but pared their gains and then turned lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 101.31 points, or 0.44 percent, to 22,758.29, the S&P 500 lost 18.8 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,448.62 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 124.61 points, or 1.91 percent, to 6,403.80.
Investor sentiment remained cautious. The Nasdaq has shed 19.5 percent from its August peak, just shy of confirming a bear market, while broad stock markets in the United States and Europe are on pace for the worst quarter since the financial crisis in late 2008.
