The global market selloff that plunged the Dow Jones Industrial Average into a bear market continued at a seemingly furious pace, as investors absorbed news of a travel ban between the U.S. and Europe, Liquidity issues persist, and fear over the impact of the coronavirus continued.
The S&P 500 shed more than 7% shortly after the opening bell, plunging the index into bear market territory and triggering a 15-minute halt in trading. The drop marked the second time this week that a rarely-used circuit breaker was triggered.
At midday, the S&P 500 was down 8.4%. Having crashed below other possible support levels, the S&P 500 now tries to hold in at 2,500. The Nasdaq composite was down 8.1%. Indexes fell below the levels they were at the time of the trading halt.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 9.3%. The Dow index undercut the low of its 2018 bear market, rendering that entire uptrend a loss. The Dow’s March decline of 15% now exceeds the 14% drop in October 2008, during the throes of the financial crisis.
Small caps have lagged in the stock market’s correction, and today the Russell 2000 was down 9.5%.
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