Stocks are getting crushed
Good morning!
Stocks are getting slammed for the third time this week as more chaos in China's stock market has given investors more than enough to worry about.
Near 7:15 a.m. ET, US stock index futures were down more than 2% across the board.
Dow futures were off about 380 points, S&P 500 futures were down 45 points, and Nasdaq futures were down 131. On Wednesday, US stocks sold off with the Dow falling 252 points and the S&P 500 closing below 2,000.
Crude ol was also breaking to new lows on Thursday with West Texas Intermediate crude oil falling another 4% to trade as low as $32.60, breaking absolute low of $32.80 hit during the financial crisis to mark a 14-year low for the commodity.
Brent crude, the international benchmark was off nearly 4% to trade as low as $32.90 a barrel.
Overnight, stocks in China were halted for the second time this week after stocks dropped 7% after just 15 minutes of trading.
Chinese stocks were also halted for the day on Monday morning.
This halt in trading followed yet another weaker fix for China's yuan - which is pegged against the dollar - which has continued to weaken as the US dollar has rallied and concerns about China's economy abound. A weaker currency helps make an exporting country, like China, more competitive.
In the US data is light with only initial jobless claims featuring on the calendar ahead of Friday's big jobs report.