In the US, the stock market plunged the most since the crash of 1987 as disappointing retail sales data and credit concerns renewed economic fears. Specifically, the S&P 500 plunged 9%, settling near session lows & the Dow closed below the 9000 mark.
Consumers continue to curtail spending in the face of economic headwinds. Retail sales in September tumbled 1.2% month-over-month, the third consecutive monthly drop and largest decline in three years. The decrease was larger than the expected drop of 0.7%. Sales are down 1.0% compared to last year, marking the first year-over-year decline since October 2002.
Separately, the producer price index excluding food and energy, PPI rose 0.4%, which was more than the expected increase of 0.2%.
On closing bell, the Dow Jones lost 8% to close at 8578, the Nasdaq shed 8.5% and the broader S&P fell more than 9%.
Indian ADRs plunged following the fall in US markets on Wednesday. In Banking space, ICICI Bank was down 14.19% at $ 15.30 and HDFC Bank was down 13.21% at $ 62.20. In IT space, Satyam Computers was down 11.54% at $ 13.18, Patni Computers was down 11.13% at $ 5.91, Wipro was down 10.98% at $ 25.04 and Wipro was down 9.69% at $ 7.27.
In Telecom space, Tata Communication was down 12.36% at $ 20.07 and MTNL was down 10.32% at $ 2.8699. In other sectors, Sterlite Industries, which was the biggest loser among the ADRs, ended down 16.85% at $ 5.33, Dr Reddy’s Labs was down 13.47% at $ 8.22 and Tata Motors was down 5.21% at $ 6.01.
