U.S. stocks sink, Nasdaq Composite sheds 385 points

Lola Evans
22 Jan 2022, 07:59 GMT+10

Global stock markets reeled on Friday as interest rates fell and oil prices dived.
Technology shares continue to be shunned with the Nasdaq dropping 2.72 percent on Friday.
The U.S. dollar was largely lower in line with the fall in bond yields.

NEW YORK, New York - Global stock markets reeled on Friday as interest rates fell and oil prices dived.

Technology shares continue to be shunned with the Nasdaq dropping 2.72 percent on Friday, to close well below 14,000.

The U.S. dollar largely gained ground despite the fall in bond yields.

At the close Friday, the Dow Jones industrials were down 450.02 points or 1.30 percent at 34,265.37. It was the sixth day in a row that the benchmark index has fallen.

The Standard and Poor's 500 dropped 84.79 points or 1.89 percent to 4,397.94.

The Nasdaq Composite shed 385.10 points or 2.72 percent to 13,768.92, its lowest close since June last year.

The euro was steady at 1.1341. The British pound slumped to 1.3553 by the New York close Friday. The Swiss franc was stronger at 0.9121. The Japanese yen edged up to 113.64.

The Canadian dollar weakened to 1.2513. The Australian dollar was a fraction lower at 0.7175. The New Zealand dollar fell to 0.6712.

The FTSE 100 in London dropped 1.30 percent Friday. In Paris, the CAC 40 was down 1.75 percent. The German Dax declined 1.94 percent.

The Australian All Ordinaries tumbled 178.00 points or 2.33 percent to 7,490.10.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 closed down 250.67 points or 0.90 percent at 27,522.26.

China's Shanghai Composite shed 32.50 points or 0.91 percent to 3,522.57.

In a surprise move, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong recovered from earlier losses in very late trading. In the end, it managed a 13.20 points or 0.05 percent gain to 24,965.55.