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U.S. stocks slump following global rout

Xinhua, August 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks extended losses in the morning session Friday, as a broad-based heavy sell-off around the world rattled nervous investors.

By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 231.53 points, or 1.36 percent, to 16,759.16. The S&P 500 slid 28.54 points, or 1.40 percent, to 2,007.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 75.16 points, or 1.54 percent, to 4,802.33.

China stocks continued to slump on Friday after the release of weak economic data, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index diving 4.27 percent to close at 3,507.74 points.

The Caixin Flash China General Manufacturing PMI retreated to 47.1 in August from 47.8 in July, the lowest point since March 2009.

For the week, the Shanghai Composite Index has plummeted more than 11 percent, the sharpest weekly drop since the week ending July 3.

European equities also traded sharply lower Friday following previous session's plunge, as traders were spooked by worse-than-expected Chinese economic data and a new election in Greece.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks suffered big losses amid mixed economic reports, with the Dow below the round-number milestone of 17,000 for the first time since October 2014, as worries about a slowdown in global growth weighed on Wall Street sentiment.

Adding more pessimism into the market, U.S. economic data came out weaker than expected. Financial data firm Markit reported Friday that U.S. manufacturers indicated a renewed loss of momentum during August.

The headline seasonally adjusted Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index dipped from 53.8 in July to 52.9 in August, missing market estimates of 54.2. The index remained above the neutral 50.0 threshold, but the latest reading was the lowest since October 2013. Endit