Day Traders Diary

2/27/20

The market averages fell sharply once again in volatile trading as investors worried the coronavirus may be spreading in the U.S. A slew of corporate and analyst warnings on the virus dragged down the major averages, tipping them into correction territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 1,190.95 points, or 4.4%, to close at 25,766. The S&P 500 slid 4.4% to 2,978 while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.6% to 8,566. The Dow had its worst day since February 2018 while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 posted its biggest one-day loss since August 2011.

It was also the Dow's biggest one-day point decline in history, surpassing Monday's 1,031-point drop. The S&P 500 also closed below 3,000 for the first time since last October.

Thursday's losses put the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq in correction territory, which is defined on Wall Street as down more than 10% from their a recent high. It took the Dow just 10 sessions to tumble from its all-time high into a correction. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq set record highs last week. The Dow now sits more than 12% below its all-time high.

The Dow and S&P 500 were also on pace for their worst weekly performance since 2008. Through Thursday's close, the Dow was down more than 11% week to date while the S&P 500 had lost 10.8%.

Besides the coronavirus news, equity investors appeared to be taking cues from the Treasury market.

For instance, the S&P 500's early morning low coincided with the high in the Treasury market. At session's end, the 2-yr yield declined five basis points to 1.10%, and the 10-yr yield declined one basis point to 1.30%. The U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.5% to 98.48.