The Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) ended with a loss of 16.89 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,972.74.The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) lost 111.97 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,068.87, while the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) dropped 57.32 points, or 1.2 percent, to 4,547.83.
The turbulence drove traders into the safety of U.S. government bonds, driving prices up and yields down. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note sank to 2.06 percent from 2.12 percent late Monday, a big move in the normally placid market.
The volatility in financial markets is likely to last until oil prices find a stable floor, said Marc Zabicki, senior market strategist at Ameriprise Financial (AMP).
"Lower oil prices certai! nly are a net positive for U.S. consumer spending," he said. "! But there's a contagion risk out there that investors have an eye on. Namely, what does it do to shale gas players, and what does it mean to the banks that lend to them?"
Since reaching a record high of 2,075.37 on Dec. 5, the S&P 500 has fallen into a slump, losing ground on six of the past seven trading days. Energy companies have been hit hard, a result of the ongoing slump in crude. The S&P 500 has lost 4.6 percent so far this month. December, usually one of the market's best months, hasn't lived up to its reputation.
The price of U.S. oil settled higher on Tuesday for the first time in a week, rising 2 cents to close at $55.93 a barrel in New York. Oil has fallen by nearly half since June as demand wanes and supply surges.
Major markets in Europe surged. France's CAC 40 gained 2.2 percent, while Germany's DAX picked up 2.5 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 2.4 percent.
John Manley, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo Fund Management, said t! hat the trouble in developing countries highlighted the stability of the U.S. economy and its stock market.
"Yes, I do worry about Russia, yes I do worry about Venezuela, and you can't really have oil come down more than 45 percent without somebody having a problem, somewhere," Manley said. "But there's an old saying on Wall Street, 'In a dog-eat-dog market, get yourself a big dog,' and the U.S. is the ultimate big dog when it comes to this sort of thing."
Falling oil prices have also hammered markets in the Persian Gulf. Dubai's main market and Abu Dhabi's closed at their lowest points of the year on Tuesday with losses of 7 percent. Saudi Arabia's stock market fell 7.3 percent. Many are concerned that the drop in the price of oil will lead to less government spending and political unrest.
Back in the U.S., precious and industrial metals futures fell. Gold declined $13.40 to $1,194.30 an ounce, and silver fell 81 cents to $15.75 an ounce. Copper slipped t! wo cents to $2.86 a pound.
Brent crude, a benchmark for internati! onal oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell $1.20 to close at $59.86 in London.
In other commodity trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange:
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"The best thing I ever bought for $20 or less was the book "Grunch of Giants" by R. Buckminster Fuller. GRUNCH stands for GRoss Universal Cash Heist -- and it explains how our wealth is stolen via our money. Reading that book made me understand my rich dad's lessons and the need to become financially educated ... and led me to write 'Rich Dad Poor Dad.' "
1. Robert Kiyosaki -
" 'Most valuable' would be an abstract painting I bought at a thrift store for $12, not because I liked it, but because I recognized the stamp of a prestigious art gallery on the back. It later appraised and sold for $1,200," said Jeff Yeager of The Ultimate Cheapskate. " 'Best thing' was the $2 plate lunch I bought for the girl sitting next to me at a local diner one day when I was in college. She's now been my wife for more than 30 years."
2. Jeff Yeager -
"Back in 2012, I purchased a $400 GE window air conditioner for just $11.67 from Walmart.com. (WMT) Plus, shipping to store was free," said Roland Karim, of Coupon Pro. "The only problem was that I couldn't get it to fit in my car, but that was the least of my worries. I ended up installing it inside my first investment home, just in time for the hot summer months here in California."
3. Roland Karim -
"My item would be the Rii Mini Wireless Keyboard," said Deacon Hayes, of Well Kept Wallet. "A fully functional keyboard that is super portable and easy to use. It is small enough to fit in my pocket and it even has a mouse built into the keyboard. It is perfect for browsing the internet on your TV. I just hook it up to my laptop, which is connected to my TV, and we are good to go."
4. Deacon Hayes -
"Tired of running out of battery on my iPhone during my son's lacrosse games and daughter's dance recitals, I invested less than $20 in an EasyAcc portable external battery charger," said Alicia Hagan of TheMommyInsider.com. "Now I don't have to worry about my phone running out of charge while I'm capturing once-in-a-lifetime moments of my kids."
5. Alicia Hagan -
"I got an Anne Fontaine dress on eBay (EBAY) for $20. It was because the seller listed it with a bad, blurry photo," said Mary Hall of The Recessionista. "I thought I had seen the dress in the store, so I had an idea of which dress it was and what it looked like. I won the eBay auction because no one else bid. It's a great dress, really a steal! The fit is perfect! I felt bad for the seller, but her naivete was my good luck. Anne Fontaine dresses retail for hundreds of dollars, so it may have been the deal of the century!"
6. Mary Hall -
The best thing I ever bought recently was a pair of jeans for $20," said Jason Vitug of JasonVitug.com. "Now that probably seems strange, but coming from a guy who used to buy jeans that cost on average $180 per pair, I found a good pair that's lasted over a year. The color, fit and style after tons of washing remains the same as if I bought it a day ago. I did buy these meditation beads in Myanmar back in 2012 for $5 and bring them with me. I was walking through a market and saw this small shop in the corner selling what looked like old artifacts. An older lady came out and it caught my eye and I asked if it was just a necklace. Only thing I bought for myself in that yearlong journey. Reminds me of my trip year round backpacking, my mission and ensures I take 20 minutes a day to have gratitude, reflect and clear my thoughts. I've currently gone minimalist at this point in my life. I pretty much sold most of my thi! ngs and currently don't buy unless necessary, such as replacing an item. Buy a new shirt, donate an older shirt kind of thing."
7. Jason Vitug -
"My hobby is collecting art and decorating. But for my bathroom, I wanted something less expensive," said Barbara Friedberg of Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance. "For less than $20 (and about one hour) I created a beautiful "salon wall" which looks like a million. Here are the steps:
- Bought a sale package of modern art note cards for $9.
- Picked up several free postcards at a museum.
- Bought nine matching frames for the post cards at Ikea for just $1 each.
- Framed the postcards and hung on the wall.
The total cost was $18 plus tax and the result was beautiful (and expensive-looking)."
8. Barbara Friedberg -
"I bought an app for $1.99 called Turbo Scan for my iPhone," said Stephanie Nelson of CouponMom.com. "It replaces my scanner, my copier in many cases and I can use it wherever I am. The process is much more efficient than the scanners in my offices, which I never use anymore and cost over $200! I just take a picture of the document with the scanner, and one click sends it via email or text message. Thinking about what my $1.99 app has replaced -- two actual scanners (one in my office and one [at home]), overnight mail, faxing, regular mail. Plus think of the paper and ink saved."
9. Stephanie Nelson -
"I just recently bought these $7 heels from Goodwill," said Crystal Stemberger of Budgeting in the Fun Stuff. "It almost felt like stealing! Yay for legal theft."
10. Crystal Stemberger -
"A few different bottles of hot sauce!" said Jon Lal of BeFrugal. "The right sauce can make any dish your own, and a little goes a long way, making it a great value. Some of my favorites are any type of tabasco, sriracha, Spontaneous Combustion, Cholula and Pace Picante."
11. Jon Lal -
"One of the best things I ever bought for less than $20 was two tickets to a local chili cook-off at the Jewish Community Center," said Amanda Grossman of Frugal Confessions. "The chili was delicious, and free craft beers were served. Then our tickets got us into two different films at the upcoming Jewish Film Festival for free where we were delighted to see "The Real Inglorious Bastards" and "Hunting for Elephants" for free. As if all that was not enough, after the second movie was a catered s'mores party, which meant we also enjoyed free wine, beer and all the s'mores we could eat."
12. Amanda Grossman -
"The best thing I've recently bought for under $20 is my iPad mini cover," said Rachel Cruze, personal finance expert at Ramsey Personalities. "Since I travel a lot, I always have my iPad with me. That $20 investment will help my $300 purchase last much longer."
13. Rachel Cruze -
"I'm a pretty frugal guy, and there's lots of things I've purchased over the years for less than $20 that have served me well. Here are three that come to mind: I picked up a blender on clearance at the Best Buy (BBY) website for $10 (and free shipping). I use it all the time. It works much better than a typical food processor and I've used it for smoothies, soup recipes, themed holiday drinks, guacamole and more. A few years back I also invested in rechargeable batteries. I picked up a charger and eight AA batteries on eBay for $13. I have a young son, and I used to spend a bunch of money on disposable batteries. That device has saved me hundreds of dollars over the years. And probably about 10 years ago, I found a combination hammer and screwdriver set at my local hardware store. I think I paid $5 for it. It includes a small hammer and four screwdrivers of varying sizes that all fit conveniently into the base o! f the hammer. I've used that for plenty of small projects around the house, and it really comes in handy when trying to unscrew the battery lids on my son's toys."
14. David Bakke -
"I just bought six LED light bulbs for $22, including tax! I paid $3.67 per bulb -- which is as much as CFLs go for -- saving me $200," said Julia Scott of BargainBabe.com. "And that's just the savings off the bat. I'll save hundreds of dollars over the life of the bulbs. I crunched the numbers on Bargain Babe and LEDs save more than $250 when compared to incandescent lights, especially when you get them as cheap as I did. I found out about a special limited-time National Grid program in Rhode Island and jumped on it."
15. Julia Scott - More from GOBankingRates
Source : http://www.dailyfinance.com/2014/12/16/market-wrap-early-rally-fizzles-indexes-end-lower/
Bebeto Matthews/AP By MATTHEW CRAFT
