Stocks open slightly lower on Wall Street
This Jan. 4, 2010, file photo, shows an historic marker on Wall Street in New York. Worries over the global economy weighed heavily on stock markets Monday, Feb. 8, 2016, with Europe bearing the brunt of the selling. And oil prices fell further, with the benchmark New York rate below $30 a barrel again. AP
NEW YORK — Stocks moved slightly lower early Tuesday, potentially ending three days of gains, as commodity prices retreated. Investors remained worried about China, as the country cut the value of its currency against the dollar yet again.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 104 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,515 as of 10:14 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 14 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,931 and the Nasdaq composite fell 38 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,531.
ENERGY FORECAST: Oil prices moved lower after the International Energy Agency said on Monday it does not expect oil prices to recover significantly until 2017, but sees slower growth in global supplies. Crude oil fell $1.16 to $32.24 a barrel while Brent crude, which is used to price oils internationally, fell 88 cents to $33.81 a barrel.
CHINA WORRIES: Investors were watching developments out of China, where the People’s Bank of China announced it had cutting its daily rate between the yuan and the dollar more than expected. The weakening yuan was a major cause of market turmoil in August 2015 as investors worried that it signaled a slowdown in China’s economy.
OUT OF SHAPE: Fitbit, maker of wearable fitness trackers, fell $3.14, or 19 percent, to $13.39 after the company issued a weak forecast for 2016.
Article continues after this advertisementMERGER WATCH: Dow member United Technologies was down 82 cents, or 1 percent, to $91.53 after the company rejected a merger offer from Honeywell.
BONDS, CURRENCIES: U.S. government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.80 percent from 1.75 percent a day earlier. The dollar fell to 112.30 yen from 112.83 yen while the euro weakened to $1.1005 from $1.1026. TVJ
