Dow Jones plummets 634 points

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 634 points on Monday

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/193012.html

The Dow Jones industrial average has fallen 634 points, or about 5.55 percent, in one of its steepest declines ever in the first full day of trading since Standard & Poor's downgraded the US credit rating on Friday.

On Monday afternoon, before the close of trading for the day, US President Barack Obama delivered a speech on the downgrade of the US credit rating, but it seems he was not able to calm the jitters on Wall Street.

Before Obama's speech, the Dow had only been down 2.5 percent, AP reported.

"Markets will rise and fall. But this is the United States of America. No matter what some agency may say, we've always been and always will be a triple-A country," Obama said in his address.

The S&P 500 stock index tumbled more than 4.7 percent. Investors seeking safety drove gold prices up and treasury yields down.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note also fell to 2.35 percent from 2.57 percent late on Friday. A bond's yield drops when its price rises.