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WALL STREET STOCKS endured a brutal Monday, with the Dow seeing one of its steepest ever one-day point drops, as the heady bullishness of early 2018 gave way to extreme volatility.
The Dow Jones industrial average plunged more than 1,100 points as stocks took their worst loss in six and a half years.
Two days of steep losses have erased the market’s gains from the start of this year and ended a period of record-setting calm for stocks.
Banks fared the worst as bond yields and interest rates nosedived. Health care, technology and industrial companies all took outsize losses and energy companies sank with oil prices.
At its lowest ebb, the Dow was down 1,597 points from Friday’s close. That came during a 15-minute stretch where the 30-stock index lost 700 points and then gained them back.
Market pros have been predicting a pullback for some time, noting that declines of 10 percent or more are common during bull markets. There hasn’t been one in two years, and by many measures stocks had been looking expensive.
“It’s like a kid at a child’s party who, after an afternoon of cake and ice cream, eats one more cookie and that puts them over the edge,” said David Kelly, the chief global strategist for JPMorgan Asset Management.
Kelly said the signs of inflation and rising rates are not as bad as they looked, but after the market’s big gains in 2017 and early 2018, stocks were overdue for a drop.
The Dow finished down 1,175.21 points, or 4.6%, at 24,345.75.
“What you’re seeing is pretty uniform selling across the board,” Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities told AFP.
“We’re out of practice watching momentum going in the opposite direction.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index, the benchmark most professional investors and many index funds use, skidded 113.19 points, or 4.1%, to 2,648.94.
That was its biggest loss since August 2011, when investors were fearful about European government debt and the U.S. came close to breaching its debt ceiling.
The Nasdaq composite fell 273.42 points, or 3.8%, to 6,967.53.
The slump began on Friday as investors worried that creeping signs of higher inflation and interest rates could derail the US economy along with the market’s record-setting rally.
The stock market has been unusually calm for more than a year. The combination of economic growth in the US and other major economies, low interest rates, and support from central banks meant stocks could keep rising steadily without a lot of bumps along the way. Experts have been warning that that wouldn’t last forever.
As bad as today’s drop is, the market saw worse days during the financial crisis. The Dow’s 777-point plunge in September 2008 was equivalent to 7%, far bigger than today’s (4.6%) decline.
Stocks hadn’t suffered a 5% drop since the two days after Britain voted to leave the European Union in June 2016. They recovered those losses within days.
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Making America Great again Mr. Trump!
@Dotty Dunleary: *Dons tinfoil hat* Perhaps it’s high level manipulation by people, to whom Trump is an existential threat. This occurs days after the release of The Memo. Coincidence?
@rse biscuits: Trump remains quiet…
@Old Gabby Johnson: on this issue. He’s off distracting people
@rse biscuits: or the day Trump’s pick takes over the Fed chair.
@Dave O Keeffe: probably the reason for it.
@Dave O Keeffe: Yeah that’s probably it alright.
@Larry Doyle: it’s bound to cause a little instability. Should rebound fast enough if that I’d the reason
@rse biscuits:*also dons tinfoil hat” Bezos and Buffet did announce a foray into the health insurance sector last week which caused a ripple which may have been the precursor to the drop…
@Vigo the Carpathian: hes deflecting by tweeting about the NHS and this….. https://twitter.com/RepAdamSchiff/status/960513046438449152
@Dave O Keeffe: Maybe he’s not the one deflecting bro.
@rse biscuits: maybe not. Maybe he’s just secretly preparing the cannon
@rse biscuits: sorry, the cannon thing was a fake tweet
@Dave O Keeffe: Yup
@Dave O Keeffe: Dave you seem like a smart guy, I have a question for ya. Do you believe that Trump’s team were illegally wiretapped by the FBI and DNC?
@rse biscuits: first of all the DNC don’t do wiretapping and on the FBI part I believe, and the memo backs this up, that Papadopoulos drunkenly bragged to someone who then alerted the FBI. All of which is perfectly legal. Your turn to answer a question, what name did you post under last week?
@rse biscuits: Are you implying that stock market insiders are manipulating things to make Trump look bad? The stock market that Trump has been boasting about and claiming credit for every other day since inauguration. You Trump saddos really are the naievest amongst the naive. The first day the markets drop you cry foul. Listen to yourself. Jesus fookin wept. Trump good, insiders bad, Trump good, FBI bad, Trump good, fake media bad, Trump good, Hillary bad, Trump good, NFL players bad, Trump good, Rosie O’fookinDonnell bad.
It’s crashing bigly, it’s going to be the biggest crash the likes of which the world has ever seen
@Dermot Lane: how would you know?
@Sean: it’s already the biggest drop they’ve ever had in terms of points.
@Sean: because I’m a very stable genius
@Dermot Lane: also just been through over 30 weeks of historic gains. Don’t forget that bit snowflake.
@Ronan Gallagher: the gains started about 5 years ago and kept going. The stockmarket is now in negative growth for 2018.
@Ronan Gallagher: several years of gains thanks to the Obama administration policies which Trump claimed credit for. If the gains are all still there in 3 years, then Trump can take some credit but right now it’s too soon.
@Dermot Lane: the Dow Jones has risen sharply since trump was elected. In the grand scheme of things this is a blip. One of the reasons for this sharp decline is wage inflation which isn’t a bad thing imo.
@Dave O Keeffe: One day put it into negative growth. Since Trumps election the market spiked sharply. Check your dates again.
@Ronan Gallagher: yeah, one day. At close on Monday it was lower than it was at opening on the 1st January
To be frank, did they ever really “fix” the last media induced crisis/stock market fall/recession? As for me, I was poor before this crisis, poor during and I’ll be poor afterwards. Poor me!
@Alan Walter Gallagher: media induced crisis? The market collapsed due to dodgy practices.
@Dave O Keeffe: You keep believing that sunshine. You might want to read some Marx, his ravings weren’t all senseless…
@Alan Walter Gallagher: I tend not to take reading recommendations from condescending people.
@Dave O Keeffe: You’re the one name calling and commenting on a clearly satirical post with “facts”…if it makes you feel better, more power to you sir! However, do read The Communist Manifesto at least…its enlightening; and I say that as someone who thinks if Fine Gael as left of centre!
@Alan Walter Gallagher: name calling? Where? It’s a first for me to be accused of not having read enough Marx! You were being satirical? I take back my comment. Any story linked with Trump is difficult to satirise as the fringes on both sides are so nutty.
@Alan Walter Gallagher: Peasent! :)
The Ponzi scheme is faltering, profit taking by the big fish to leave the minnows faltering!
They are all using similar algorithms so expect more hiccups!
Not as bad as Black Monday, but there will be a lot of jittery nerves over the next few days!
@Jarlath Murphy:
Not quite sure you know what a Ponzi scheme is…
@Walt Jabsco: Not convinced you know what a Stock Market is…
@Jarlath Murphy:
Well you clearly don’t if you think it’s a Ponzi scheme.
@Walt Jabsco: Ahh bless, upset?
@Jarlath Murphy:
Not a bit – why do you ask?
@Walt Jabsco: Do you know what an analogy or metaphor is?
@Neal Ireland Hello.:
Yes absolutely, but this isn’t one.
I blame Hilary and Obama
@alphanautica: I remember a time when those 112 upvotes would have been because this was a funny comment. Now it’ like Fox news in the comments section here.
Pop!!! Quantitative easing has pumped this one hard.
I blame the homeless and people on welfare. yes they caused it again.
Its called a correction. Taking profits off the table. You don’t make money in the market till the day you sell.
@Joe Caulfield: I don’t know, there were an awful lot of worried faces there for what you’re saying is run of the mill
@Joe Caulfield:
You don’t make money at all if your shares never recover to the price you paid for them.
@Joe Caulfield: there’s always a Trump tweet you can refer back to…how about this one from 2015
“IF THE DOW EVER FALLS BY MORE THAN A 1,000 POINTS IN A SINGLE DAY, THE SITTING PRESIDENT SHOULD BE LOADED IN A VERY BIG CANNON AND SHOT INTO THE SUN AT TREMENDOUS SPEED, NO EXCUSES”
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DVTWt-TXkAIFiS1?format=jpg&name=small
@Diaspora’d: here’s the deflection https://twitter.com/RepAdamSchiff/status/960513046438449152
@Diaspora’d: yours is a fake tweet by the way
@Diaspora’d: Literal fake news http://uk.businessinsider.com/fake-trump-tweet-about-stock-market-dow-jones-2018-2?r=US&IR=T Well done you.
@rse biscuits: Apologies then, I fell for it.
@Diaspora’d: I did too for a minute. All this political drama is highly entertaining at the end of the day though isn’t it? :-)
Another triumph for Trump.
Time to top up. This bull market has another year or two in it
So much winning!
Cryptocurrencies are primed to take over from worthless FIAT toilet paper. I’ve been invested since february 2016 and am looking forward to the paradigm shift that’s going to take place over the next few years. Don’t be left holding a dying currency like the dollar or euro that’s steadily losing purchasing power to Bitcoin, Litecoin etc. Decentralized Proof of work/Proof of stake crypto is money redesigned to brake away from the shackles of centralized private bank control and manipulation. They are running scared because they know they can’t stop the revolution this time, they can spread FUD across the mainstream media all they want but the game is up and they know it.
@Super Ted: Super Ted does like his fantasies.
@John’s Voyage: He’s not wrong though. I know a guy who invested £500 into Bitcoin and now it’s worth more than 40k. Bitcoin does not suffer fluctuations in value, or exchange fees – it’s the new global currency that people have been trying to establish for years.
@John’s Voyage: I live in the real world buddy, the criminal bankers have created a very elaborate illusion and brainwashed the masses via the mainstream media into accepting their smoke and mirrors scam FIAT currency as legal tender for far too long! Crypto is the future, adapt or get left behind!
@Simon O’Connor: Bitcoin’s value fell approx 25% in December.
@Larry Doyle: But how much has it grown in the last 2 years alone?
@Simon O’Connor: his point was that you were wrong to say it doesn’t suffer fluctuations. It’s followed exactly the same pattern as the DOW for the last two years. It does the exact same thing only it’s easier for it to disappear and it isn’t backed by anything.
@Simon O’Connor:
“Bitcoin doesn’t suffer fluctuations in value”
???
Are we talking about the same bitcoin??
Banks fared the worst……Sob Sob!
@Dave barrett: And that comment, maybe meant to be flippant, may be about the one most important effect on us. Remember the last time the US financial sector had a glitch? All of those sub prime mortgages etc. It was the start of the crash here.
Where is all the money, Bitcoin is after plummeting as well!
Interesting that Trump takes a swipe at the NHS today…. coincidence…
FAKE NEWS
I read Wall St was spooked by news of wage increases over the rate of inflation first time in decades. …Seems that is bad for the economy cause inflation. ..High share dividends on the other hand very good for the economy. …Can’t blame Trump…
@John003: well he has been taking credit for the stock market all along so he should equally take the blame
@John Killeen:
So the Dow Jones didn’t just drop 1100+ points??
@Walt Jabsco: I think he was predicting Trump’s eventual quote
@Dave O Keeffe: maybe Trumps going to load himself into a Sunbound Cannon. Like his tweet said in 2015..If DOW drops more than 1000 points in one day, it’s the sitting Presidents fault, no excuses!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DVTWt-TXkAIFiS1?format=jpg&name=small
@Dave O Keeffe: Nah Dave, don’t you get it? He gets credit for the good and the bad isn’t his fault.
That’s how it works!
@Malachi: I’m so stupid, I completely forgot. Whatever you do don’t mention that this is the first year that he has had a hand in shaping budgets either. Wouldn’t look great that the stock market is in negative growth already!
@Diaspora’d: that’s not real
@Dave O Keeffe: Yep, I acknowledge its a fake now
@Diaspora’d: easily done when discussing someone who tweets ridiculous things all the time
Here we go.. well we had a good last couple of years, glad I saved all my money instead of buying land rovers, cocktails and donuts.
Gold Silver or some other commodity…
@Johnnathan Biskalero: Trump steaks?
Totally off topic but did anyone else just see the black dude on Claire Byrne? What a legend. Love that guy.
@rse biscuits: What did he do to her?
With all the “politicians and stock traders” commenting on here, one has to wonder why our little ROI is in such a mess
With so many “know it all” politicians and stock traders commenting on here, one must wonder why our little ROI is so dismal
There goes my millions of Pesetas, Lira and Drachma
The US stock market seems to be going contrary to the economy:
-interest rates increasing
-Fed deleveraging
-buildings up
-unemployment down
-corporate tax down
& then the ass falls out of the stock market
Hello…..what’s happening?
Have we been hoodwinked by Fake Economics?
@Moorooka Mick: the US economic has been close to trouble for a while. The yield curve (which has accurately predicted the last 5 recessions) is very close to making its sixth prediction which in itself contributes to a nervous atmosphere.
The dow wouldn’t know volatility if it hit them in the willy. Jump on over to crypto.
Fake news,It wazzz the besst daayy evvver on the stock market.
I bet this is because that school admin got an extra 1.50 a week.
this is realy the top app of the day http://www.freegiftcards.top
typical journal reaction ‘go back to sleep folks’, people have been practically robbed by the bitcoin rout, here in ireland and the journal grabs the markets line of ‘this is not a big deal’. This is a warning sign of a larger crash yet to happen in a neo liberal economy which will tank worse than it did in 2008, a massive crash in 2018. Trump has deregulated everything in the USA, there are no brake in the wall street bubble and the rest of the world economies are not much better. What will follow is another round of collapsing private banks, austerity and privatisation for the weakest in our states so the free market can cream off a bit more profit on the excuse of this next crash.
…
have your say