12:39 PM ET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average paced another sharp sell-off in stocks today, at one point falling more than 1.7% before sharply cutting losses to around 0.6%. Investor angst over the risk of no trade deal between the U.S. and China remained a front-burner issue. But news wires reported that President Trump is planning to meet his China counterpart Xi Jinping on the issue after receiving a "beautiful letter."
At around 12:45 p.m. ET, the Nasdaq composite cut its losses to less than 0.6% after sinking sharply as well. The S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 each surrendered around 0.4% to 0.6%.
Top growth stocks showed resilience. The Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) rose slightly.....MORE
Volume was running sharply higher vs. the same time Wednesday on both main exchanges.
Crude oil futures cooled as WTI near-term futures at one point slumped 2% to a session low of $60.92 a barrel. That marked the lowest levels since late March.
Investors continued to scoop up long-dated U.S. Treasury bonds. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note fell to 2.44%, just 3 basis points above 3-month T-bills. The fed funds target remains in a 2.25%-2.5% target range.
In The Dow Jones, 4 Components Lose 2 Points Or More
Boeing (BA) hit the Dow Jones hard. Still reeling from problems with safety concerns over its 737 MAX passenger aircraft, the aerospace megacap dropped more than 3% and undercut the 350 level for the first time since January. Boeing is now below its 200-day moving average.
Apple (AAPL) slumped more than 2% and is challenging a 197.79 buy point in a large first-stage cup with handle base.
Those who bought at the new breakout can sit tight. The reason: No defensive sell signal, such as the 8% stop-loss rule, has been triggered.
Intel (INTC), which issued weak sales guidance late on Wednesday, tanked more than 4% in brisk turnover and fell further below its long-term 200-day moving average....
The last two weeks of DJIA futures action via FinViz:
