Stocks down ... Firearms up ... Feds suing VW

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

NEW YORK (AP) — There's a sinking feeling this first trading day of 2016. At 2:05 p.m., the Dow Jones industrials were down 366 points at 17,059. The Nasdaq was down 126 at 4,881, and the S&P 500 was down 43 at 2,001. Investors worldwide dumped shares on new fears of a Chinese economic slowdown and more turmoil in the Middle East.

UNDATED (AP) — With all major markets in a severe sell-off, shares of companies that make guns have been surging. New data pointed to strong sales at the close of 2015, a year marked by mass shootings in Paris and California, and new political pressure to tighten regulations. Shares of Smith & Wesson rose almost 6 percent today. Its shares hit an all-time high two weeks ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities are suing Volkswagen over emissions-cheating software found in nearly 600,000 vehicles sold in the United States. The lawsuit alleges the company illegally installed software designed to make its diesel engines pass federal emissions standards when undergoing lab testing.

WASHINGTON (AP) — FDA approvals for first-of-a-kind drugs climbed last year, pushing the annual tally of new U.S. drugs to its highest level in 19 years. The rising figures reflect an industry-wide focus on drugs for rare and hard-to-treat diseases, which often come with streamlined reviews, extra patent protections and higher price tags.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ladies and gentlemen, start your headsets. Oculus says it will start taking orders for its much-hyped Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset at 11 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday. The company says this is the final product that will go on sale, not a developers' kit. First details came at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.