New York, Oct 11, 2018 (AFP)
US stocks dipped sharply in a volatile afternoon session on Thursday before paring losses in the final hour of trading amid President Donald Trump's continued attacks on the central bank.
Near 1930 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.1 percent, or nearly 300 points, at 25,308.92, after earlier sinking below 25,000.
The broad-based S&P 500 had also slumped 1.1 percent to 2,752.95, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.4 percent to 7,395.98, putting it on pace for its lowest close since May.
The levels marked a recovery from lows of moments earlier, when the Dow had fallen more than 600 points.
Some market watchers had predicted a bounce on Thursday after Wednesday's pullback, Wall Street's worst day since February.
Wall Street opened with modest gains after modest US inflation data. But it did not take long for volatility to return with a vengeance as major indices hit session lows in the final 90 minutes of the day.
Big losers in the Dow included JPMorgan Chase, Exxon Mobil, McDonald's, Pfizer and Procter & Gamble. All fell at least two percent.
"When we have a recalibration in values, it's not surprising that it takes more than one day," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR. "In these kinds of moves, it usually takes three days to wash out."
Most market viewers saw last week's surge in the yield of the 10-year US Treasury bond as the catalyst for the two-day rout, an unexpectedly fast move higher than raised worries of runaway inflation and draconian Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.
Trump on Thursday doubled down on criticism of the Fed's rate hike policies, saying the US central bank was "making a big mistake" and being "too aggressive," in a talk show appearance on the Fox network.
Some commentators criticized Trump for stepping aggressively into the core decision-making of the Fed, whose independence to political pressure has been seen as crucial to its credibility and the credibility of US markets.
The upcoming third-quarter earnings season has been seen as a potential antidote to the unease. Earnings season begins in earnest on Friday with results from JPMorgan Chase and other large banks.
But Hogan said earnings were also a source of worry because they could showcase the consequences of Trump's trade wars for US companies, from raising costs of products to forcing enterprises to change supply chains.
"The larger concerns we have are about what companies have to say about their concerns about the US and China," Hogan said.
Global stocks in Europe and Asia fell sharply on Thursday, following the down trend in the United States.

Sumber : AFP