SINGAPORE — Chinese steel mills, suffering from weak demand at home, have either defaulted on supply contracts or have deferred taking shipment of as much as four million tons of iron ore this month after a rapid decline in prices, traders said.
After oil's sharp drop last week, outpacing the decline in stocks, traders are starting to feel pessimistic about whether global energy demand can support the run-up in raw materials prices so far this year.
To take advantage of a continued decline in the shares, traders should consider the stock's October 26 put.
Despite the decline in prices last week, traders still expect an output increase when OPEC meets Wednesday, sending crude 99 cents lower Monday, to $87.72.
But the biggest factor pushing trading away from the public exchanges is the ongoing decline in volatility in stock prices, traders say.
The Nasdaq dropped 0.23 percent, or 5.45 points, to 2,362.21, held back in part by a 2.82 percent decline in shares of Google as traders speculated that the company would end its operations in China.
To take advantage of a continued decline in the shares of AMT, traders should consider the equity's July 40 put.
As early as 2005, Mr. Paulson began betting that complex mortgage investments known as collateralized debt obligations would decline in value, much as Wall Street traders bet that shares will drop in price.
The decline in orders at the Canton Fair nonetheless caught traders and investors by surprise.
Wall Street slowed Tuesday's decline in the afternoon, trimming its losses as traders digested a mixed batch of economic reports and corporate earnings.
