The S&P 500 is down nearly 3% and has now declined to a six-month low, the lowest since September last year. The Nasdaq, the tech-heavy index is also down over 4% and is poised for its biggest single-day fall since September 2022.
With Monday’s fall, the S&P 500 is nearing correction territory, having declined 9% from its top. A 10% fall from the top indicates entering “correction territory.” The Nasdaq Composite has now corrected 14% from its recent peak, while the Russell 2000 is on the verge of entering a bear market, having declined 18% from its recent highs. A 20% fall from the peak indicates a “bear market.”
Shares of Tesla tumbled 15% on Monday, marking their worst single-day fall since 2020, while other tech giants of the magnificent seven cohort – Alphabet, Meta and Nvidia fell over 5% each. Street darling Nvidia is now down over 30% from its recent peak.
A gauge of the Magnificent Seven megacaps tumbled 6%. Treasury yields slid on bets that an economic slowdown would force the Federal Reserve to slash interest rates. Bitcoin slipped below $80,000.
Speculation is intensifying that President Donald Trump is willing to tolerate hardship in the economy and markets in pursuit of long-term goals involving tariffs and smaller government. Asked on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures whether he’s expecting a recession, he said, “I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big.”
“We’ve gone from animal spirits to what are the odds of a recession,” said Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group. “This is a headline-driven market; one that could change in an hour. Sit tight. Buckle up. We finally have the correction we were waiting for, and long-term investors will be rewarded again.”
Traders also kept a close eye on something that hasn’t happened with the US equity benchmark since November 2023 – a close below the key 200-day moving average.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries slid eight basis points to 4.22%. The dollar rose 0.3%. About 10 high-grade companies delayed US corporate bond sales on Monday. West Texas Intermediate dipped to trade below $67 a barrel, down more than 15% from its mid-January peak.
(With Inputs From Agencies.)
First Published: Mar 11, 2025 12:36 AM IST
