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1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks plunge amid oil weakness, Fed Beige Book

Xinhua, January 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks suffered big losses Wednesday on the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, while renewed pressure on oil prices continued to weigh on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 364.81 points, or 2.21 percent, to 16,151.41. The S&P 500 shed 48.40 points, or 2.50 percent, to 1,890.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 159.85 points, or 3.41 percent, to 4,526.06.

After rising more than 3 percent in early trading, oil prices ended mixed Wednesday, with the Brent crude briefly trading below 30 U.S. dollars a barrel for the first time since April 2004, as data showed that U.S. gasoline and diesel stockpiles surged for a second consecutive week.

On Tuesday, the U.S. oil traded below 30 dollars a barrel for the first time since December 2003. U.S. oil has tumbled about 17 percent since the start of the year, dragged lower by a global supply glut and a stronger U.S. dollar.

On the economic front, according to the Beige Book released Wednesday afternoon, U.S. economic activity expanded in nine of the country's 12 districts from late November to early January.

However, several Districts reported negative impact of a stronger dollar on demand, while some noted that low energy prices have had a smaller, mixed effect, the Beige Book said.

Overseas, Chinese stocks suffered a deep dive despite stronger-than-expected trade data on Wednesday, breaching the 3,000-point psychological barrier. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 2.42 percent to close at 2,949.6 points.

European equities pared early gains to close mixed Wednesday. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange inched down 0.25 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index added 0.54 percent. Endit