All stock markets across the U.S. were closed on Monday and could be closed again on Tuesday, the New York Stock Exchange operator said late Sunday night. That reversed an earlier plan to keep electronic trading on Monday.
Hurricane Sandy is a huge storm that is menacing the entire East Coast of the United States and was taking aim at the most densely populated area in the U.S. on Monday. Hundreds of thousands of people have had to evacuate to higher ground, schools have been closed, public transport has closed, government agencies shut down and businesses closed.
Political turmoil in Italy and the hesitancy of Spain in seeking assistance from the euro zone has put those two countries in the spotlight of the debt crisis that is once again putting pressure on financial markets throughout the world.
Many Wall Street brokers and analysts were working from their homes on Monday, with many expecting to do the same on Tuesday. The storm is expected to make landfall near Atlantic City, New Jersey later on Monday and could cause widespread flooding in Manhattan and other areas of the financial district.
Futures for S&P 500 were down by 9 points and below fair value, the formula for evaluating prices by accounting for dividends, interest rates and expiration time on contracts. The futures for the Dow were down 92 points and the Nasdaq futures fell by 22 points.
No further concessions were granted by the foreign lenders of Greece, the finance minister said Sunday, which prolonged an impasse for a crucial austerity package. IMF and EU lenders have been in talks with Greek lawmakers on the pending austerity package for a number of months, but there has been a hold up in the final agreement by a small party’s refusal to support the new wage legislation.
Leave a Reply