US stocks have finished lower for the sixth straight session, with the Dow posting another triple-digit decline after a morning rally fizzled.
US stocks have finished lower for the sixth straight session, with the Dow posting another triple-digit decline after a morning rally fizzled.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 204.91 points (1.29 per cent) at 15,666.44 on Tuesday.
The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 25.60 (1.35 per cent) to 1,867.61, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 19.76 (0.44 per cent) at 4,506.49.
US equity markets surged early and stayed high much of the day, but faded sharply in the last hour of trade as the market remained jittery following stock gyrations of the last week, especially on Monday, when the Dow tumbled more than 1,000 at one point.
"Nerves are frayed after what happened yesterday," said Bill Lynch, director of investment at Hinsdale Associates.
"I can't predict where the market will be tomorrow or next week, it's going to be volatile for sure. But I would hope that two or three months out, the market will have stabilised."
The impetus for the correction has been China, where equities have seen a major pullback that has sparked fear that the world's second-biggest economy is weaker than thought.
All 30 members of the Dow rose in the morning, but by the end of the day, only two companies, Apple and Disney, were higher. Both companies advanced 0.6 per cent. Merck was the biggest loser, down 5.2 per cent.
Some leading tech and biotech stocks scored gains, including Facebook (+1.1 per cent), Netflix (+4.8 per cent) and Gilead Sciences (+1.9 per cent).
Large banks finished in the red, including Dow members JPMorgan Chase (-0.6 per cent) and Goldman Sachs (-0.7 per cent).
Several leading Chinese companies listed in the US rose. E-commerce giant Alibaba gained 4.2 per cent, social networking platform Renren advanced 5.1 per cent and online retailer JD.com added 4.7 per cent. But internet search company Baidu lost 2.9 per cent.
Electronics retailer Best Buy bolted 12.6 per cent higher after reporting that second-quarter net income rose 12.3 per cent to $US164 million ($A229.02 million).
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.09 per cent from 2.02 per cent on Monday, while the 30-year advanced to 2.82 per cent from 2.73 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
