US close: Markets plummet over China's woes and falling oil

US stocks were down again on Thursday as China halted trading, oil prices plunged and geopolitical tensions escalated.

The Dow closed down 2.32% while the Nasdaq fell 3.03% and the S&P 500 dropped 2.37%.

Oil prices were in the red on worries about an oversupply in the market, compounded by tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.03% to $33.28 per barrel and Brent dropped 1.34% to $33.77 per barrel at 2000 GMT.

Global equities ruptured after trading was suspended in mainland China following a 7% fall in the CSI 300 index.

It triggered the nation’s ‘circuit breaker’ rule, designed to stop panic selling, and came after 30 minutes to mark the shortest trading day on record. That rule was suspended by Chinese regulators late in the evening on Thursday, ahead of the markets reopening on Friday.

Shares in China also tumbled after the People’s Bank of China allowed the biggest fall in the yuan in five months on Thursday.

The central bank set the official midpoint rate on the yuan 0.5% weaker at 6.5646 per dollar, the lowest since March 2011.

“Market participants in general are remaining very jittery, with the concerns over China, increased geo-political tensions elsewhere, depressed commodity markets and anxiety over the general pace of growth in the global economy encouraging investors to scatter away from riskier assets,” said FXTM Research Analyst Lukman Otunuga.

In the US, initial weekly unemployment claims in the US fell by 10,000 for the week ending on 2 January to reach 277,000, according to the US Department of Labor.

Economists had pencilled in a slightly larger drop to 275,000, while the reading for the previous week was unrevised at 278,000.

A four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out the volatility in the weekly figures, slipped by 1,250 to reach 275,750.

Among corporate stocks, Apple took a hit, closing down over 4% as questions are asked about reports that iPhone 6S and 6S Plus production levels are being cut. UBS on Thursday reportedly moved to lower its forecast for smartphone sales.

Yahoo also fell over 6% on the back on a report from Business Insider that it plans to cut at least 10% of its staff to curb costs.

S&P 500 - Risers

Gap Inc. (GPS) $26.74 +5.73%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $51.87 +4.72%
Signet Jewelers Ltd (SIG) $133.28 +4.69%
Constellation Brands Inc. Class A (STZ) $149.61 +4.53%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $16.58 +3.50%
Baxalta Incorporated (BXLT) $40.46 +2.95%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $9.83 +2.82%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $6.85 +2.39%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $65.03 +2.33%
Time Warner Inc. (TWX) $70.20 +2.30%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $20.61 -10.00%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $60.19 -9.41%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $6.66 -9.26%
Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) $3.18 -9.14%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $5.61 -9.08%
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) $40.11 -8.36%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $7.30 -7.94%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $25.31 -7.22%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $28.06 -7.12%
United Rentals Inc. (URI) $62.36 -6.51%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $65.03 +2.33%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers

General Electric Co. (GE) $28.97 -4.23%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $96.45 -4.22%
Boeing Co. (BA) $133.01 -4.19%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $60.27 -4.04%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $31.84 -3.75%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $83.02 -3.54%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $52.17 -3.48%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $63.94 -3.44%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $164.62 -3.07%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $61.50 -2.97%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Staples Inc. (SPLS) $9.83 +2.82%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $81.17 +1.93%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $27.06 +0.52%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $57.67 +0.09%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $60.19 -9.41%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $95.76 -6.36%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $30.16 -6.22%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $27.95 -6.08%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $174.37 -6.06%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $55.98 -5.98%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $114.96 -5.95%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $167.72 -5.54%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $41.59 -5.46%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $76.00 -5.41%