For Aug. 20, here's how the stock market did today, earnings reports, the top stock market news, and stocks to watch based on today's market moves...
Dow Jones: 16,990.69; -358.04; -2.06%
S&P 500: 2,035.73; -43.88; -2.11%
Nasdaq: 4,877.49; -141.56; -2.82%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average cratered more than 358 points today, despite news U.S. home resales hit a near eight-and-a-half year high in July and Mid-Atlantic manufacturing activity gained in August. The financial sector declined more than 2% on the day after investors reduced expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in September. Today's decline turned the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 into negative territory for the year.
Media stocks took a huge blow today after an investment research firm said the entire sector requires an evaluation of how companies should be traded and evaluated. Shares of Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) - the owner of ESPN - and Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) dipped more than 5% over concerns about cable-cutting.
Shares of Viacom Inc. (Nasdaq: VIAB) slipped 6.3%; shares of AMC Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: AMCX) dipped 4.5%; and shares of DISH Network Corp. (Nasdaq: DISH) dropped 4.3%. Shares of sports media and entertainment giant The Madison Square Garden Co. (NYSE: MSG) fell 4.1% despite news the company beat fourth-quarter Wall Street profit and revenue expectations. The broader media stock decline even pulled down streaming stocks like Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN).
Gold prices rallied another 2%, while silver prices added another 2.2%, as the chances of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve dwindled. Gold prices rallied to their highest levels since July 16, rising strongly in the aftermath of China's recent surprise yuan devaluation.
The S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX), the market's fear gauge, surged more than 22% on the day.
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