Dow at 11,555, down 18 points so far today.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock indexes fell in midday trading Monday
after China moved to raise interest rates to combat spiking
inflation.
A blizzard in the Northeast is making this a quiet day on Wall
Street by disrupting commutes for many people who in the financial
industry. Trading is expected to be light throughout the week as
the New Year’s holiday approaches.
A year-end rally based on improving economic reports and the
extension of tax cuts for another two years has pushed stock
indexes to two-year highs.
In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 34 points,
or 0.3 percent, to 11,540. The Standard and Poors 500-stock index
fell 2, or 0.2 percent, to 1,255. The Nasdaq composite index fell
14, or 0.5 percent, to 2,653.
China’s move over the weekend is the second time in three months
that the country has taken steps to slow the pace of its economic
expansion. Inflation jumped to its highest levels in two years in
November. Any slowdown in China can affect stocks worldwide. Bank
of America Corp. estimates that emerging markets like China account
for 80 percent of the world’s economic growth.
Shares were down sharply overseas. The Euro Stoxx 50, which tracks
blue chip companies in countries that use the euro, fell 1.2
percent. Asian stock markets closed down less than 1 percent.
