When the market closed at 11:32 AM ET for nearly 4 hours, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 184 points, trading at 17,592. When trading resumed, the slide continued with the Dow ending the day down more than 230 points to the lowest level since February.
Investors remain nervous about Greece. More specifically, if the country can reach a deal with the European Union by Sunday to bail it out of its debt crisis. Investors are also concerned about instability in the Chinese stock market.
“The markets fear this is probably the last extension Greece will get, and no one knows what that will mean for the Eurozone and the rest of the world. In addition, investors think the sell-off in China is a statement on the global economy, not taking into account that the Chinese stock market is always trades more on speculation than economic conditions. Add to that uncertainty ahead of next week’s corporate earnings reports, and you have a sell-off,†says Art Hogan, Managing Director, Chief Market Strategist at Wunderlich Securities.
Ironically, the technical glitch at the NYSE comes on the same day that United Airlines planes were grounded due to a computer problem and the Wall Street Journal’s website was down.
“The malfunctions at United and the NYSE were not the result of any nefarious actor,†Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson stated. “We know less about the Wall Street Journal at this point, but their system is back up again, as is United Airlines,†he added.