Wednesday's Stock Market Open: Shares Tumble On Economic, Brexit Worries

Investors precious metals Wednesday as worries over the economy and Brexit pressured equities.

At noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged nearly 500 points or 1.86% to 26,078.97. The S&P 500 was off 51 points or 1.77% at 2,888.58 and the Nasdaq Composite fell to 7,775.74, down 133 points or 1.68%.

ADP reported Wednesday the U.S. economy added 135,000 non-farm jobs in September. The ADP National Employment Report showed half of the hiring was done by large companies with at least 500 employees and 94% of those jobs (127,000) were in the service sector. Natural resources and mining lost 3,000 jobs while manufacturing added a paltry 2,000.

U.S. manufacturing numbers hit a 10-year low in September, data from the Institute for Supply Management indicated Tuesday. The factory index slipped to 47.8, its lowest point since June 2009, surprising economists.

Overseas, Germany’s leading economics research institutes lowered growth forecasts for the country, citing slowing global demand. British manufacturing also is in its longest slump since 2009 with companies stockpiling in advance of Brexit. Nissan is considering moving its manufacturing out of the U.K. Jaguar Land Rover already has announced a weeklong closure in November to guard against supply disruptions.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson presented his latest European Union exit plan, issuing an ultimatum to EU negotiators to work out a deal in little more than a week or Britain will leave the economic alliance without one come Oct. 31.

Johnson’s plan scraps the so-called backstop arrangement for the Irish border, which essentially would have left Northern Ireland behind in the EU. Irish Foreign Minister said the proposal didn’t look like the basis for any deal, which must be negotiated in little more than a week so details can be finalized before the Oct. 31 deadline.

Johnson is against negotiating any sort of delay despite pressure from Parliament.

On global markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 49 points or 0.19% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 106 points or 0.49% and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 27 points or 0.92%. Australia’s S&P/ASX fell more than 100 points or 0.94%.

London’s FTSE 100 was off nearly 237 points or 3.23%, the German Dax fell 338.58 points or 2.76% and the French CAC 40 was off 174.86 points or 3.12%.

The British pound was up 0.04% to $1.23.10 while the euro ticked up 0.15% to $1.09.49. The dollar index was off 0.08%.

Oil futures edged lower. Crude oil fell to $52.37 a barrel or 2.33% while Brent crude fell to $57.48 or 2.41%. Gold and silver were higher.