Charlotte investors wary as stocks plunge

Investors in Charlotte and elsewhere watched U.S. stock markets with anxiety on Monday, after stocks plunged in the morning but recovered some losses later in the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 588.40 points, after falling by more than 1,000 points in early-morning trading amid a sell-off in global stocks fueled by growing concerns about a slowdown in China’s economy. The slump in the Dow came after the U.S. blue-chip stock average ended Friday down 10.1 percent from its May record, closing past the 10 percent mark that is widely consider correction territory.

“It’s been a crazy morning,” John Lynch, a Charlotte-based regional chief investment officer for Wells Fargo, said just hours after the Dow posted its biggest intraday point decline in history.

Lynch said concerns about China were just one factor rattling investors. Monday’s turbulence also reflected investors’ ongoing uncertainty over the impact that higher interest rates will have on stocks, as they await a possible increase in rates from the Federal Reserve later this year, he said.

The direction of corporate profits and their effect on stock prices are also weighing on investors’ minds, he said.

Most of Monday’s sell-off came from institutional investors, like hedge funds, rather than individual investors, Lynch said. His advice to investors: make sure that long-term portfolios are well-diversified for days like this.

Here's a look at how shares for some of the Charlotte area’s largest publicly traded companies fared at Monday’s close:

Bank of America: $15.29, down 5 percent

Duke Energy Corp.: $72.44, down 5.6 percent

Lowe’s Cos.: $68.31, down 3.9 percent

Nucor Corp.: $41.44, down 4.4 percent

Sealed Air Corp.: $50.81, down 2.6 percent

This story was originally published August 24, 2015 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Charlotte investors wary as stocks plunge."