Markets Fall Again on Surprise Swiss Monetary Move

The major U.S. stock benchmarks fell for the fifth consecutive day as oil prices resumed their slide and the Swiss central bank unexpectedly lifted a three-year cap Euro exchange rates put in place to keep the Franc from appreciating too much and damaging Switzerland’s export-driven economy. Adding to the volatility was a surprise rise in weekly jobless claims to a four-month high at 316,000 and a series of disappointing quarterly earnings reports from the financial sector including Bank of America and Citigroup.

Market Radar - % Change

After snapping a three day losing streak with yesterday’s big gain, Nymex crude resumed its downward slide falling 4.6% to settle at $46.25 per barrel down $2.23.  Gold prices rose 2.45% as the precious metal climbed $30.3 to settle at $1,264.8 per ounce.

The Dow Jones Industrial average slipped 106.38 points or 0.61% to close at 17,320.71.  The S&P 500 was down 0.92% and closed at 1,992.67 down 18.67 points.

The NASDAQ Composite was down 1.48% to close at 4,664.71 down 68.5 points while the tech heavy NASDAQ 100 was down 1.36% or 56.19 points to end the day at 4,089.65.

The Small cap Russell 2000 was down 1.9% 22.35 points closing at 1,154.71.  The FOX50 closed at 1,393.39 down 1.09% or 15.36 points.