U.S. stocks move mostly lower in afternoon trading

By Matthew Craft, Associated Press

Published Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015 | 8:09 a.m.

Updated Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015 | 11:32 a.m.

NEW YORK (AP) — Major stock indexes drifted mostly lower on Wednesday as more signs of a slowdown in China helped push raw-material producers and oil companies down.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down three points, or 0.2 percent, at 1,939 as of 1:40 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 56 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,279, and the Nasdaq composite picked up two points, a fraction of a percent, to 4,758.

The losses were modest but broad. Three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.

ANOTHER DROP: Mining companies and other raw-material producers continued a recent slump following another report that China's economy is losing steam. A private measure of manufacturing in China hit its lowest level in six years, a result of weaker factory production, overall new orders and hiring.

THE TREND: Mounting concerns about slowing global economic growth and the timing of the Federal Reserve's first interest-rate hike in nearly a decade has battered markets in recent months. The S&P 500, the most widely used measure of U.S. investments, has lost more than 8 percent in three months.

ONE VIEW: Anthony Valeri, a market strategist at LPL Financial in San Diego, said the choppy trading will likely continue until next week, when a batch of major U.S. economic reports come out. The government releases its monthly look at the job market next Friday.

SCANDAL: Volkswagen's CEO stepped down Wednesday, taking responsibility for a growing scandal. His resignation followed the German carmaker's admission that it rigged software in its cars to pass U.S. emission tests. In a statement, Martin Winterkorn said he was "not aware of any wrongdoing on my part." U.S.-listed shares of Volkswagen surged $1.95, or 8 percent, to $27.39.

EUROPE: Major indexes in Europe recovered a portion of their steep losses from the day before. Germany's DAX finished with a gain of 0.4 percent, while France's CAC 40 picked up 0.1 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1.6 percent.

ASIA'S DAY: Evidence of slowing economic growth hit markets across Asia. China's Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 2.3 percent. South Korea's Kospi fell 1.9 percent, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 2.1 percent. Japan's stock market remains closed until Thursday for public holidays.

CRUDE: The price of benchmark crude oil dropped $1.55 to $44.82 a barrel in New York.

BONDS & CURRENCIES: Bond prices fell, nudging the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note to 2.15 percent from 2.13 percent the day before. The U.S. dollar strengthened to 120.22 yen while the euro gained slightly to $1.1196.

METALS: Precious and industrial metals futures ended mixed. Gold edged up $6.70 to $1,131.50 an ounce, silver increased three cents to $14.79 an ounce and copper slipped less than a penny to $2.30 a pound.