Stocks Opened Lower as China Pusheed Yuan Lower Again

U.S. stocks opened lower for a second day on Wednesday as China weakened its currency further, increasing worries about a global economic slowdown. The Dow Jones industrial average lately fell 189.54 points, or 1.09%, to 17,213.30. The S&P 500 lost 19.57 points, or 0.94%, to 2,064.50 and the Nasdaq composite dropped 54.06 points, or 1.07%, to 4,982.73.

China’s central bank allowed the yuan to drop against the U.S. dollar, sparking its largest two-day decline in decades. The central bank set the yuan’s midpoint at 6.3306 on Wednesday — 1.6% weaker than the previous day’s midpoint.

Details of Greece’s latest bailout package were being pored over across Europe on Wednesday as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insisted the agreement with creditors would put “a definitive end” to the country’s economic uncertainty.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s revenue for the three months ended June rose 28 percent, missing analysts’ estimates, with growth slowing to its lowest rate in more than three years. The company posted quarterly revenues of $3.27 billion, below an expected $3.39 billion, according to a Thomson Reuters SmartEstimate poll of 28 analysts.

Macy’s Inc. on Wednesday cut its sales guidance for the year after reporting steeper-than-expected slides in sales and profit in its second quarter. Macy’s reported a 2.1% decline in same-store sales for the second quarter ended Aug. 1.