Wondering what the phrase "down close" mean in an economic-related context? [closed]

Question

Down close to 5 percents.
It was talking about market and shares.

Answer 1

“5 percents”, with percent in the plural, is very unlikely here. It can mean “bonds paying five percent interest”, but in that case the phrase down close to 5 percents would not be meaningful.

I think it probable that what is meant is “5 percent”, with percent in the singular.

For something to be down in market language means that its price has decreased. It is very common to say that a price is down AMOUNT as a shorthand way of saying that its price has decreased by AMOUNT.

• If what you read is that X is down close to 5% (or 5 percent), close is a component of the phrasal adverb close to = “near”; it is pronounced with /s/.

  This means that the price of X has decreased by nearly 5%.

• If what you read is that X closed down 5%, close is a verb meaning “have a price at the close of trade, at the end of the trading day”; it is pronounced with /z/.

  This means that at the point in time when the market closed for the day, the price of X had decreased by 5%.

Close may also be used as a noun, pronounced with a /z/ and meaning “the close of trade, the end of the trading day”: X was down 5% at (the) close.