Warning on China’s growth sparks selling in energy and industrial shares on Wall Street
21 Mar 2012
A warning about China's growth led to selling in energy and industrial shares yesterday, but the market's losses were largely contained, a sign that analysts said showed resilience for US stocks.
The steady calls for a correction had not been abating since the S&P 500 hit its highest level in nearly four years. Fears of a chinese slowdown were the signals for selling, though the S&P 500 was much above the day's lows at the end of trading.
The S&P energy index GSPE was down 1.4 per cent and came in as the the worst performer among the S&P 500 sectors.
According to global mining giant BHP Billiton there were signs of "flattening" iron-ore demand from China, the world's top metals consumer, hitting the commodities markets and energy stocks.
According to some analysts, the news from China caused everyone to look up and take a breath, but the sentiment had not changed and it was still bullish.
Before Tuesday, the S&P 500 index was at its highest point since May 2008 and around 10 per cent down from the record closing high of 1,565.15 set in October 2007.
