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Hurricane Sandy keeps US stock markets closed for 2 days

Hurricane Sandy keeps US stock markets closed for 2 days

The last time the New York Stock Exchange was closed for weather was in 1985 because of Hurricane Gloria, and it will be the first time since 1888 that the exchange will have been closed for two consecutive days because of weather.

Stock trading will be closed in the U.S. for a second day on Tuesday as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the East Coast. Bond trading will also be closed.

The last time the New York Stock Exchange was closed for weather was in 1985 because of Hurricane Gloria, and it will be the first time since 1888 that the exchange will have been closed for two consecutive days because of weather. The cause then was a blizzard that left drifts as high as 40 feet (12.2 meters) in the streets.

The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq said they intend to reopen on Wednesday.

Much of the East Coast was at a standstill on Monday as the storm approached. Mass transit and schools were closed across the region ahead of the storm hitting land, which was expected to happen later Monday.

Areas around New York's Financial District were part of a mandatory evacuation zone. The storm surge was already pushing water over seawalls in the southern tip of Manhattan.

CME Group's New York trading floor was closed, but electronic markets were functioning. Crude oil fell 80 cents to $85.48 in electronic trading.

CME hasn't made any announcements about trading on its markets for Tuesday. CME owns exchanges that trade commodities, futures, options and securities related to interest rates.

Bond trading will be closed on Tuesday. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association called for an early close to bond trading Monday, at 12 noon. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was 1.72 percent, compared with 1.75 percent late Friday.

European stock markets fell. France's CAC-40 fell 0.8 per cent, Britain's FTSE fell 0.2 per cent and Germany's DAX lost 0.4 per cent. Insurers such as Munich Re, Aviva PLC and Zurich Insurance fared worse than other stocks as investors worried about the potential cost of the storm's damage.

"The economic impact cannot be underestimated," said Elsa Lignos, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

The uncertainty generated by the storm comes at the start of a big week in the United States. This is the last full week before next Tuesday's presidential election and culminates Friday with the release of monthly jobs data, which many analysts think could have an impact on the vote.

The Labor Department said it still hoped to release the data Friday but that weather remained a factor. Much of the federal government in Washington was shut down Monday.

Published on: Oct 30, 2012, 12:15 AM IST
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