Markets clobbered, gold stays even

Gold was spared a market hammering.

In the US the S&P 500 is down 1.22% to 1,806.16. Same with the Dow Jones having fallen 1.15% to 16,011.15.

Spot gold prices have mostly stayed even over the last 24 hours at $1,262.50 per ounce. Silver is doing less well, having fallen 1.35% to $19.85 per ounce.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index is down 1.62% to 13,711.99 and the S&P TSX Venture is off 1.96% to 964.16 as of noon EST.

Europe and Asia are having a tough time of it.

The FTSE 100 fell to -1.62% to 6,663.74 and the Hang Seng Index fell 1.25% to 283.84.

There was less damage at the Australian Stock Exchange. The S&P/ASX 200 declined just -0.42% to 5,240.90.

Some underlying concerns that caused markets to fall are China and the taper. Yesterday’s manufacturing number from China showed a surprising contraction, and with the Federal Reserves’ announced march towards normalcy, foreign markets will see interest rates rise, which will make them less competitive as their import costs rise.

Notable decliners were Hudbay Minerals (TSE:HBM), which was down 5.59% to $8.78. The company shed some recent gains.

Image from Flickr Creative Commons