[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] On the 30th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,313.65, down 225.92 points (0.85%), the S&P 500 index fell 12.22 points (0.38%) to 3,246.22, and the Nasdaq index rose 44.87 points (0.43%) to close at 10,587.81 in the New York stock market.
On the same day, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that the GDP growth rate for the second quarter was -32.9%. This was the worst decline since the related statistics began to be compiled. Although it was somewhat better than the Dow Jones experts' forecast of a 34.7% decrease, the historic economic downturn worsened investor sentiment.
The number of weekly unemployment insurance claims announced by the Department of Labor last week was 1,434,000 (seasonally adjusted), an increase of 12,000 from the previous week, marking a second consecutive week of increase, which also raised concerns.
The market was led by key tech stocks ahead of earnings announcements. Apple rose more than 1% that day, and Amazon and Facebook also recorded gains of around 0.5%.
September delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed at $39.92 per barrel, down 3.3% ($1.35) from the previous day. This was the first time in three weeks since the 9th that WTI closed below $40 per barrel.
International gold prices, which had been on a record high streak, fell for the first time in 10 trading days. August delivery gold closed at $1,942.30 per ounce, down 0.6% ($11.10) from the previous day.
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