Valley Area Stocks Hit Hard as Markets Plunge

As markets took a nosedive on Wednesday, some of the Valley area’s largest public companies saw share prices tumble. The Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 831 points, or 3 percent, to close at 25,598.74. The Nasdaq composite dropped by more than 4 percent and S&P 500 by more than 3 percent. The Valley area’s technology and biotech companies were among the hardest hit, reflecting a rough day for tech stocks at large. Information technology staffing company ASGN Inc. (ASGN) fell almost 6 percent, while cloud software provider BlackLine Inc. (BL) fell close to 7 percent. Biotech firms Teledyne Technologies Inc. (TDY) and Atara Biotherapeutics Inc. (ATRA) fell 5 percent and nearly 4 percent respectively. Amgen Inc. (AMGN) lost about 2 percent. The Valley’s biggest loser was California Resources Corp. (CRC), which lost $4.16, or more than 9 percent, to close at $40.20. Earlier this month, the company’s share price hit nearly $50 after oil prices surged to $81 a barrel. Walt Disney Co. (DIS), which has seen its share price increase slightly over this year, fell $4.03, or more than 3 percent, to close at $112.86. One bright spot was LTC Properties Inc. (LTC), which rose 57 cents, or 1.3 percent, to close at $45.57. Analysts attribute today’s downturn to rising interest rates, ongoing trade tensions with China and higher bond yields, which could make overall borrowing more expensive and convince investors to pull out of the stock market.