ISTANBUL – US stocks ended lower Wednesday, with the Nasdaq falling more than 2 per cent after Fitch Ratings downgraded the US’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to “AA+” from “AAA.”
The tech-heavy index plummeted 310 points, or 2.17 per cent, to finish the day at 13,973, marking its worst single-day performance since February, reported Anadolu.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 348 points, or 0.98 per cent, to end the session at 35,282. The S&P 500 was down 63 points, or 1.38 per cent, to close at 4,513.
Fitch said Tuesday that the US’s rating change reflects expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years and a high and growing general government debt burden as well as debt limit standoffs and last-minute resolutions.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, as a response, said earlier Wednesday that the rating decision is “puzzling” and “entirely unwarranted,” adding it is based on a “flawed assessment.”
The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, jumped 15.5 per cent to 16.09. The 10-year US Treasury yield, meanwhile, rose 0.8 per cent to 4.082 per cent.
The dollar index added 0.34 per cent to 102.65, while the euro fell 0.41 per cent to US$1.0937 against the greenback.
Precious metals were in negative territory, with gold trimming 0.46 per cent to US$1,935 per ounce and silver decreasing 2.4 per cent to US$23.71.
Oil prices were down around 1.8 per cent, with global benchmark Brent crude at US$83.45 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude at US$79.75. – Bernama
