Today, amidst a veritable Wall Street panic, all three major U.S. stock averages opened sharply lower in a plunge so steep it triggered a trading halt due to safeguards put in place to avoid a repeat of 1987’s “Black Monday” crash. The Dow dropped a record 2,000 out of the starting gate. S&P 500 was on track for its largest one-day percentage drop since December 2008, the height of the financial crisis.
Wall Street tumbled on Monday and recession fears loomed large as plummeting oil prices and ongoing coronavirus worries sparked a panic-driven sell-off, sending investors fleeing risk for safety on the anniversary of the U.S. stock market’s longest-ever bull run…
The rout began over the weekend when the oil supply pact between Saudi Arabia and Russia collapsed and both countries vowed to hike production amid weakening global demand due to the coronavirus and signs of an economic slowdown.
Oil prices crashed to their lowest since the 1991 Gulf war, with Brent crude futures last down 22.05% and front-month WTI falling 22.3%, sending the S&P Energy index down 19.3%, which would be its largest one-day decline since October 2008.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2,017.64 points, or 7.8%, to 23,847.14, the S&P 500 lost 221.98 points, or 7.47%, to 2,750.39 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 578.54 points, or 6.75%, to 7,997.08… Apple Inc shares fell 6.8% after data showed the company sold fewer than 500,000 smartphones in China in February amid the coronavirus crisis.
MacDailyNews Take: And you thought sheep were herdable animals.
The real virus is the panic. #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak @elonmusk
#marketcrash #marketcrash2020 https://t.co/tONjs0PgUc pic.twitter.com/42d8JCS4Js— MacDailyNews (@MacDailyNews) March 9, 2020
Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful. — Warren Buffett