Midnight Trader | Apr 15, 2013 04:19PM ET
U.S. equity markets ended sharply lower, with losses accelerating near the closing bell following news of explosions at the Boston Marathon.
Earlier in the day, stocks slid after surprisingly bearish Q1 GDP data out of China and less optimism among home builders sparked a sell-off that spread through all sectors, with precious metals and energy taking the brunt of the beat down.
China's Q1 GDP rose 7.7% -- below the 8% gain forecast by economists surveyed by both the Dow Jones Newswires and Reuters -- and below the 7.9% growth China posted in Q4. Other data released by China showed March industrial production increased 8.9% from the year-earlier period, missing the Dow Jones Newswires forecast for a 10% gain. The growth was the weakest in more than a year.
U.S. Housing
Declines deepened after a report showed the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing-market index dropped to 42 in April from 44 in March, short of a forecast rise to 46. Ahead of the bell, an Empire State manufacturing index fell to 3.1 points in April from 9.2 in March, below forecasts calling for an index of 7.8 and the slowest reading since January.
Gold Plummets
With China as the major worldwide driver of commodities prices, this data has prompted a global sell-off among most commodities. Oil shed 2.8% of its value in Monday's session to close at $88.71 a barrel, its lowest price of the year. Comex May copper ended down 3.5% at a 15-Month Low of $3.2330 on China's Disappointing GDP. Gold futures continued to experience downside pressure through the day's session and closed down 9.3% at $1,361.10 an ounce. This was the biggest one-day price drop that the metal has experienced since the 1980's. May silver ended down 11%.
Here's Where The Markets Stood At Day's End
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