Dow dives 500 points as stocks close near 2018 lows

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: CNBC

Stocks sank Monday, pushing the S&P 500 to its lowest level of the year as investors grew increasingly worried that the Federal Reserve's plan to raise interest rates could be too much for the economy and stock market to handle.

The S&P 500 fell as much as 2.5 percent to 2,530, surpassing its February low of 2,532. The Dow lost more than 500 points, bringing its two-day losses to more than 900 points. Shares of Amazon and Goldman Sachs led the declines.

The Dow and S&P 500, which are both in corrections, are on track for their worst December performance since the Great Depression in 1931, down 7 percent so far for the month. The S&P 500 is now down more than 4 percent for the year.

The Cboe Volatility Index, one of Wall Street's favorite gauges of market fear, hit 23.79, its highest level since Dec. 10 and volume for the stock market was heavier than usual. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.5 percent as Microsoft dropped nearly 3.6 percent. The Russell 2000 — which tracks the performance of smaller companies — entered a bear market, down 20 percent from its 52-week high.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/dow-dives-500-points-as-stocks-close-near-2018-lows/ar-BBR3rSH

[oberliner]

1. This is so depressing

[JackRiddler]

16. Predictable things should not be depressing.

This is capitalism as always.

[llmart]

20. Predictable things should not be depressing.

Well, then, climate change has been predictable for quite some time now, so I guess we shoudn't be depressed about that either. Hey, let's just put on the rose colored glasses everyone!

[JackRiddler]

21. Now that one IS depressing.

I didn't mean my comment to extend to real disasters, like the ongoing planetary extinction event, or the real disasters that follow on the inevitable motions of the capitalist virtual casino. (Like the ongoing extinction event!)

It's more the hint of finding these motions surprising that, by now, should be more a matter for laughter (of the derisory sort) than for (emotional) depression.

[llmart]

22. I know. I didn't mean to be snarky.

But I'm retired and some of my retirement money is in stocks and next year I'll be forced to start withdrawing funds, so this chaos in the markets can be pretty unsettling. I live in a community of many people who are retired and hear them getting worried also.

The markets never like chaos and this country is in such a state of chaos because of Trump. I keep wondering how much longer this is going to go on.

[Scruffy1]

19. Stocks go up and stock go down.

Ober the long run interest rates paid are about 1-2% above inflation and return on equities is about 1-2% above interest paid on debt. Markets don't "do" anything. If their is more buyers than sellers the price goes up, moresellers than buyers it goes down. Stock prices are all about future earnings so when buyers feel a slowdown in earnings is coming they tend to put more of their assets into debt. We already saw this with the bond curve as the big money heads for safety. For most of us the market makes little difference because if your saving for retirement the cost between high and lows averages out and you don't "make" or lose money until you sell.
After the last crash I got really sick of people telling me how much they "lost" even though most of them never sold and their portfolios were fine.

[safeinOhio]

2. Oil at $49 too

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. S&P 500 "death cross": 50 day moving average crossed below 200 day MA. . . . nt

[Bengus81]

4. This is what smoke and mirrors BS from Shitler gets investors........

Spent a year pumping a market that went up on AIR and nothing else. The big "art of the deal" guy just had to be right when he pimped the DOW every day on Twitter. WRONG.....but him and his zillionaire buddies won't get hurt,just those of us with investments,401k's and IRA's.

[The Mouth]

5. Time to buy pretty soon

The only place in the world where people rush OUT when there's a sale.

"Be fearful when others are greedy, be greedy when others are fearful"- Warren Buffet

[MarvinGardens]

10. Watch for falling knives.

In general I agree with your sentiments, but a bear can be brutal before it's done. It's better to buy now than it was at the top, but we could fall a lot further from here. These crashes seem to happen slowly at first, then all at once. Take a look at the chart for 2007 and 2008. Now imagine it's January 2008. The market is in correction, valuations are more attractive, and you don't know the future. Is it time to buy?

[The Mouth]

11. Actually I've been doing dollar-cost averaging

since I got my first 'real' job in 1984. The market goes up, the market goes down, over time it goes up. At least that's how I'm playing the game

[JackRiddler]

17. And when it goes down enough there's always the Fed

Last edited Mon Dec 17, 2018, 10:21 PM - Edit history (1)

You'd think the game was set up in some way!

[MarvinGardens]

25. A good strategy, nothing wrong with that.

[drray23]

28. Yeah that's what I'm doing now.

I'm buying low. I know it will be at least 15 yrs before I retire so instead of pulling my money I buy low. I will start shifting in a decade or so to soft land for retirement.

[llmart]

6. Merry F****** Christmas everyone...

from the team of Trump/Pence/McConnell et al.

[Demovictory9]

7. wow. It was down by only 50 points this morning.

[Squinch]

8. AND the shock of the new tax law will start hitting next month and go on till April.

This economy is really going to hit the skids then when everyone realizes they are paying tons more in taxes.

[CountAllVotes]

14. yep, no more standard deduction

and as for age, wtf is that?

dump trump would ye?

[Bengus81]

18. Standard deduction is still there--and doubled,it's the personal exemption that's gone

So basically it's almost a wash disguised as a HUGE increased standard deduction.

[Squinch]

26. Disappeared along with most regular deductions.

I'll be paying thousands more this year. But at least I know it. A lot of people are in for a shock.

[drray23]

29. Not entirely correct.

It will indeed be a problem for people living in states with high real estate taxes. I believe it's also unfavorable to people with kids as some deductions go. Another category like my wife and myself without kids and paying little real estate taxes while being in the top tax bracket will actually benefit since the brackets are going down.

[turbinetree]

9. And in 3 days the golf cart will be warmed up and gassed, clubs shining..............Graham standing

by to putt, and I just think that that this should greet them all when they arrive..............

[elmac]

12. Just a rough patch, a bump in the road

we will see new highs in 10 or 20 years

[TlalocW]

13. I'm a super small time investor

Like I'm using an app called Acorns that looks at my spending through my debit card, and if I buy something for $5.85, it will then round up to the next dollar and take out $0.15 to invest. It has a nice graph that shows you your entire investment history, then you can zoom in on the last year, last 3 months, and the current day. I never miss Obama more than I have when I do that. It was a nice steady upward curve. Then once Trump's economy kicked in, it looks like a 3-year-old's drawing of mountains - all jagged, bouncing up and down with no reason. I think I once compared it to the stock market itself, and the graph for it was remarkably the same for my investments.

TlalocW

[TexasBushwhacker]

15. So after the corporations spent their tax cuts buying back hundreds of billions $$$

worth of stock to boost stock prices, the market is now tanking. As Dr. Phil says "How's that working out for ya?"

Just wait though, Trump and his minions will say the crash would have been worse without the tax cuts. Mark my words.

[Apollyonus]

23. The worst is yet to come

and hope Trump is gone so someone competent can fix it for people's sake.

[NHDEMFORLIFE]

24. It's Obama's fault

Just ask The Idiot.

[spooky3]

27. The 2nd and 3rd pghs appear to contradict one another re: S&P. nt