Investing.com
Global markets are in a big sell-off today.
US stocks opened lower to start the week, extending Friday's sell-off.
Near 11:13 a.m. ET, the three major indexes were down more than 2%, with the Dow down 380 points, the S&P 500 off 45, and the Nasdaq down 129.
Financial stocks were the biggest decliners, with Goldman Sachs and Citigroup shares down 4%. A gauge of European banking stocks tanked, and is in its worst streak of weekly declines since 2008.
After a sell-off Friday, losses in the tech sector continued with a drop by almost 2%. The so-called FANGs — Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google (Alphabet) — were also losing ground after supporting the S&P 500 last year.
Meanwhile, Twitter dropped 4% to a new low near $15 per share.
Stocks fell on Friday after we got the January jobs report, which missed on the headline with 151,000 new jobs but which also saw the unemployment rate fall to 4.9%. There was also some wage growth.
Major indexes across the world were dark red Monday, including Greece's ASE Index, which was down nearly 6% and touched its weakest level in about 26 years.
Crude oil was also lower, with West Texas Intermediate crude in New York falling below $30 a barrel, down 3%. The OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Venezuela met on Sunday, but there was no evidence that any definitive steps would be taken toward more meetings to talk about production levels, according to Reuters.
We're seeing three big haven trades happening, as investors look for assets that are less risky than stocks.
Gold continued to get a strong safety bid after Friday's rally, jumping $36 an ounce, or about 3.13%, to at least three-month highs near $1,199. US Treasurys were also rallying, so their yields fell. The benchmark 10-year note's yield was down about 8 basis points to 1.760%.
And, the yen was surging, as the dollar fell as much as 1.2% against it to 115.32, the lowest level since late 2014.
Stock markets in China remain closed because of celebrations for the new year.
Investors were "becoming increasingly risk averse amid heightened volatility and concerns regarding developments surrounding the three C’s: China, Commodities, and Credit," according to Charles Schwab chief investment officer for equities Omar Aguilar in a note Monday.
No major US economic data was on deck today, with focus this week being on Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's semiannual two-day testimony on Capitol Hill beginning Wednesday. You can find our complete preview of this week's big economic events here.
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