Dow closes with 7.8% drop

Dow closes with 7.8% drop, 

largest since 2008 on oil 

slump and coronavirus fears

RT,

9 March, 2020

https://www.rt.com/usa/482687-markets-crash-fake-news-trump/

Stocks are cratering as markets close on Monday, with the Dow down close to 7 percent in the largest single-day drop in NYSE history and the S&P and Nasdaq not far behind. Coronavirus and a drop in oil prices are to blame.

The Dow was down 7.8 percent at the close of trading on Monday, with the S&P and Nasdaq not far behind at -7.61 percent and -7.29 percent, respectively. Plunging oil prices - the commodity lost 30 percent of its value overnight - and coronavirus-related panic took a big bite out of stock values, leading to one of the worst trading days since the 2008 crisis.

The US wasn’t alone in having its bottom drop out - markets around the world were feeling the sting, from Greece - hit the worst with a 13 percent drop - to China, which got off comparatively easy at -3 percent. However, China has been feeling the effects of the coronavirus panic for longer than anyone.

The epidemic, which has hit most of the world’s economic hotspots, has depressed demand for oil, leading to the price drop that triggered the day’s panic-selling - a vicious cycle that doesn't seem likely to stop anytime soon.

The epidemic, which has hit most of the world’s economic hotspots, has depressed demand for oil, and last week’s OPEC meeting failed to reach an agreement to further cut production to shore up prices. Russia objected to the production cut, instead holding out to maintain existing cuts, only for Saudi Arabia to offer its oil at an even deeper discount - while suggesting it would increase production. The resulting price war triggered a massive tumble in value, sending the commodity down to levels not seen since the 1991 Gulf War.

While Russia has insisted it can weather the collapse, analysts have warned that both the Saudis, whose economy is almost entirely dependent on oil, and the US shale industry, which pays considerably more to get the commodity out of the ground, are imperiled by continued low prices.

But the crash could be just a temporary setback. “Markets nearly always overreact in the short term,” Peter C. Earle, a research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, told RT. “At present equity markets around the world are responding to uncertainty about the economic impact of the coronavirus. But while the Saudi move is likely to be bad for oil companies, oil is a major factor of production and lowe

Stock Futures Hit "LIMIT 

DOWN" Trigger Circuit 

Breakers

Hal Turner,

9 March, 2020

E-mini futures on the S&P 500 Index sank 5% to 2,819 as of 8:05 p.m. in New York, hitting a limit triggered when the measure falls 5% from the price calculated in the last 30 seconds of trading.

Friday. The curb means the contract can’t trade at a lower price for the remainder of the overnight session, although transactions at or above the threshold are allowed.

As of 10:00 PM eastern Daylight Time (EDT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is about $0.30 away from ALSO TRIGGERING.

Developing . . .

UPDATE 11:00 PM EDT --

In Tokyo, the Nikkei is bleeding: -6.16%!!!!!

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng: -4.4%

Israel: -4.78%

Russia: -4.97%

Germany DAX 10,820.5 -707.0 -6.13%

UPDATE -- ALL FUTURES HALTED

In the midst of financial-market spasms as the day began in Asia Monday, trading in some of the world’s most popular equity contracts went quiet when declines reached 5%, setting off Chicago Mercantile Exchange limits that keep prices from falling further.

“These things are all designed to stop a market panic and cause a bit of a pause in trading,” said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital Investors. “It can have the perverse effect of increasing the downward pressure on other markets, particularly until the U.S. market opens.”

E-mini futures on the S&P 500 Index sank 5% to 2,819 by 9:05 a.m. in Tokyo. After briefly rallying, they slipped back to the limit-down level and held there for much of the Asian trading day. The curb means the contract can’t trade at a lower price for the remainder of the overnight session, although transactions at or above the threshold are allowed. An exchange-traded fund tracking the S&P 500 that isn’t subject to trading curbs was down 6.3% at 5:52 p.m. in Tokyo.

“Most of these down opens have seen dip buyers come in -- we should know in the first 90 minutes of trading” if they are out of ammunition, saidMichael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading. “If we don’t bounce quickly in those first 90 minutes, it sets up to be a long and likely ugly day.”

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/120115603/nzx-continues-to-slide-as-virus-uncertainty-hampers-air-nz?cid=app-iPad