Wednesday’s wild ride on Wall Street picked up right where it left off in early trading Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down another 150 points in early trading as investor concerns over rising interest rates and the trade war with China continue to mount, but rebounded quickly, moving into positive territory within 25 minutes as bargain hunters emerged. Tech stocks saw slight recoveries as well after being hit hard on Wednesday.
The roller coaster morning follows Wednesday’s 832-point loss, the biggest drop in seven years. (That drop cost Warren Buffett some $4.6 billion.)
Other markets shadowed the Dow. The Nasdaq composite index was off 43 points beflore climbing the same amount and the S&P 500 was down 15 before edging into positive territory. Should the S&P close lower today, it will be the sixth consecutive time, something that hasn’t happened since before Donald Trump’s election.
The Federal Reserve has raised rates three times this year to keep inflation in check. It’s expected to do so at least once again before the end of the year. Meanwhile, strong economic data has led to a sell-off in U.S. Treasury bonds, which is fueling fears of even higher interest rates. Investors are further rattled about Trump’s complaints about the Fed’s rate increases. On Wednesday he said he thought policy makers were “making a mistake” and said the Fed had “gone crazy”.
Investors are also worried about the ongoing trade war with China and its impact on corporate bottom lines as well as the rising threat of higher interest rates.
Wall Street’s troubles caused turmoil in international markets overnight. Japan, China, Korea and Australia all saw their benchmarks fall significant amounts.