The U.S. stock market took a beating today, losing about $1.05 trillion in market value in just 24 hours. This is one of the worst single-day losses in quite a lot of years.
What caused it is a mix of weak economic data and some companies having a really bad day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average started the day in the red, and things only got worse because it then dropped over 626 points right out of the gate and kept falling.
By the afternoon, the losses topped 700 points. It ended the day down more than 2%, settling around 40,936.93. The dip was mostly thanks to some disappointing manufacturing data.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported a fifth straight month of contraction in the sector, and the news spooked investors so much they started selling off stocks across the board, fearing more trouble ahead.
The S&P 500 didn’t do any better. It fell about 2.4%, closing at around 5,530 points. Now, its reason isn’t manufacturing but rather tech as stocks were hammered. Nvidia saw its shares plummet by 9.5%.
That was the largest single-day drop for any American company, and it wiped out $279 billion in market value. The energy sector also had a tough day. Oil prices slipped, with U.S. crude falling to $72.66 a barrel.
Lower oil prices generally mean there are worries about global demand, and this time was no different.
The Nasdaq Composite took the hardest hit among the three major indices, falling nearly 3.5% to close at 17,136.30. This was its worst day since August 5th.
Cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin and Ethereum, have shown a tendency to correlate with the performance of tech-heavy indices.
But Bitcoin’s 3% decrease and Ether’s tumble under the $2,500 mark have very little to do with the stock market. September is historically a challenging month for both stocks and cryptocurrencies.
The anticipation of economic reports and interest rate decisions often has led to increased volatility. BTC’s market capitalization stands at approximately $1.2 trillion, with a year-over-year return of 128%, while ETH has $301.4 billion and a 53% year-over-year return.
But despite the immediate challenges, there are factors that could lead to a recovery in the market. One expected catalyst is the U.S. election. Another is the distribution of $14.5 billion in funds to FTX creditors later in the year.
Amid all this chaos, some analysts are calling for calm. Still, others believe this could be a sign of more pain to come, especially if the upcoming economic data doesn’t paint a better picture.
