It’s Not Over: Dow Drops More Than 1000 Points

Stocks sold off sharply on Thursday while yields on government bonds rose to their highest levels in years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by around 1,033 points, or around 4.15 percent Thursday morning. The S&P 500 fell by around 3.75 percent. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 3.9 percent.

But those losses capture only a part of the action in markets on Thursday. It was a day of renewed volatility where it became almost impossible to avoid describing the market action with the cliche “rollercoaster ride.” Stocks pitched upward and downward all morning and into the afternoon, with the Dow gaining and losing two or three hundred points several times. The volume of trading was about twice as high as normal.

The sell-off accelerated and took a firmer direction in the final hour of trading. In the final hour of trading, the Dow lost hundreds of points

Companies in the S&P 500 have lost around $2 trillion in market capitalization since the stock market high on January 26, according to an analysis by CNBC.

Government bonds weakened as well. Yields on the 10-year Treasury note climbed near 2.9 percent, indicating the price of the bond was falling. Yields have since retreated, however, to 2.82 percent.

Once again, the sell-off in stocks was preceded by good news about the labor market.