On Thursday October 9, stocks experienced their worse day of the year as the Dow Jones Industrial average tanked 335 points. October has been a volatile month for stocks, with some days reporting huge swings upward; Wednesday was the best day of the year for stocks, up 275 points, followed by a shocking collapse on Thursday amid fears of global growth, as reported by SeekingAlpha.
The S&P 500 shed 2.1% and dropped below its 100 day moving average, the Nasdaq shed 2% and the Russell 2000, whose chart was signaling a decline, dropped 2.7%.
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One factor to blame was the weak German industrial orders, as the country reported a 5.8% drop-off in exports. So far this month, the Dow has moved up or down 200 points for the third time. Michael Block, chief strategist at Rhino Trading Partners told Fox News, “Everyone who thought they were in the clear yesterday walked in today and got punched in the face. Just when you think you have it figured out, you don’t. This is a very tough market.” The VIX volatility index, often called the “fear” index, spiked 21%.
Investors are fleeing into bonds for safety, evidenced by the yield of the 10-year Treasury falling below 2.3% for the first time in 16 months. Thursday’s drop in stocks signaled the worst single day performance since the 326 point drop on February 3. The energy sector was the hardest hit, and might have been caused by the falling price of oil.
