The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 700 points on Wednesday as new concerns arose over data on global economic growth.
By 1 p.m. Wednesday, the Dow had fallen as low as 744 points, and continued to fluctuate below the 700 threshold in afternoon trading.
The tumble followed a series of concerning economic indicators from Germany and China, signaling renewed recession fears in the global economy.
One big piece of news came when the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes dipped below the yield of two-year U.S. Treasury notes, a rare occurrence described by market watchers as an “inverted yield curve.”
The S&P 500 also fell by more than 60 points and the Nasdaq slid by more than 200 points.
The downturn in the markets came a day after the Dow closed up 373 points after the U.S. Trade Representative announced a delay in many of the import taxes imposed by the Trump administration planned to impose on Chinese goods.
But new data from China indicated Wednesday that the country’s factory output of goods, retail spending and investment weakened in July.
Other bad news that was apparently fueling the drop in U.S. markets was that Germany’s economy shrank 0.1% in the second quarter due to a decline in exports, signaling a recession could be around the corner.
With just hours left before the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow appeared to be headed to its second largest single-day dip this year.
On Aug. 5, the Dow closed down 760 points, or about 3%. The tumble came after China’s central bank allowed its currency, the yuan, to fall to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar in more than 10 years.
The growing trade fight between the two countries has intensified in recent weeks after President Donald Trump accused China of manipulating its currency. His comments came just days after he threatened to levy tariffs on about $300 billion of Chinese goods, extending existing tariffs.
