Wall Street tumbles on Obama re-election
The Dow Jones fell more than two per cent in trading today, as investors shifted their focus to a looming fiscal cliff after President Barack Obama’s re-election for a second term.
The energy, healthcare, banking and defence sectors were among the hardest hit during trading, after Obama defeated Republican candidate Mitt Romney.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen more than 200 points in lunchtime trading.
Renewed worries about economic troubles in Europe – a key market for many US companies – also plagued markets. The Eurozone economy will barely grow next year but pick up in 2014, the European Commission said. The region’s economy would grow only 0.1 per cent in 2013 after a bigger than previously forecast contraction this year.
Meanwhile, in London the FTSE 100 closed down 1.58 per cent.