Market Opens Down on Grim Spending Data

Wall Street’s three-day revival screeched to a halt this morning, as the Dow opened down 136 points following a grim consumer spending report. Personal consumption fell 1% in October, the fastest consumers have slammed the brakes on spending in 7 years, the Wall Street Journal reports. Orders for durable goods took their third straight tumble, falling 6.2%.  

A spate of negative earnings news was also on hand, with Tiffany reporting a 57% dip in quarterly profit, while Deere’s quarterly net fell 18%. The S&P fell 1.5% while the Nasdaq declined 1%. Overseas exchanges likewise declined, with the FTSE dow 2.6% and the Nikkei down 1.3%. Hong Kong’s index, however, jumped 3.8%. (More stock market stories.)