September 09, 2017

Markets in US posted weekly declines as Hurricane Irma moved toward the East Coast while interest rates affected the financial stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 189.77 points for the week while the S&P 500 fell 0.61% over the same period. The Nasdaq composite dropped 1.17% since Tuesday. Markets were closed on Monday for Labor Day.

In Friday’s trading, the S&P 500 fell 0.15% to close at 2,461.43, with energy and information technology contributing the largest losses. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.59%, settling at 6,360.19, with large-cap IT stocks Apple and Google-parent Alphabet both down.

Irma was downgraded from a category 5 to a category 4 early on Friday, but the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) warned that the storm will devastate the parts of the country.

The storm lashed the Caribbean with devastating winds and torrential rain, leaving behind 14 deaths and a swathe of catastrophic destruction.

US wholesale inventories rose more than expected in July, nearly matching its biggest gain in six months recorded in June. The Commerce Department reported 0.6% increase in wholesale inventories in July, more than the 0.4% increase expected by economists. source: indiainfoline.com