Stocks Even Worse Overseas

The US stock market has seen its worst year in decades—but things have been even worse in Europe and Asia, the Wall Street Journal reports. While the Dow is down 33% for the year, Germany’s DAX index has fallen 42% and China’s Shanghai Composite has plummeted 64%. The Dow Jones World Index, excluding the US, is down 49%, a sign of how global markets move in sync during times of crisis, the Journal notes.

Foreign markets saw a boost when a healthy business climate encouraged wide-ranging investing. But when things began to turn sour, investors rushed to withdraw those funds. From July to September, US investors sold $92 billion more foreign stocks and bonds than they bought—an all-time record, the Journal notes. Meanwhile, Americans’ foreign losses have ballooned with the power of the dollar.
(More financial crisis stories.)