US shares drop as market opens
US stocks tumbled on the market opening today amid a rout in global trading after the US credit rating was downgraded for the first time.
At the opening, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 192, or 1.7%, to 11,252. The S&P 500 was down 23, or 2% to 1,176 and the Nasdaq down 64, or 2.5%, to 2,468.
Agency Standard and Poor’s cut the long-term debt rating for the US by one notch late on Friday.
The move was not unexpected, but it came when investors were already nervous about a weak US economy, European debt problems and Japan’s recovery from its March earthquake.
Prices for US Treasury bonds rose because they were still seen as one of the few safe investments. Gold topped $1,700 per ounce for the first time.
