Stock Sell-Off Continues; VIX Hits 8-Month High
Volatile session ends in heavy losses for major equity benchmarks
U.S. stocks swung between minor gains and massive losses in today's wildly volatile session. Traders were temporarily relieved by this morning's tame reading on consumer inflation -- but sentiment remained skittish after Wednesday's steep sell-off, particularly as President Donald Trump continued to criticize the Fed's policy-tightening path as "ridiculous" and "a little too cute." As a result, it was a back-and-forth shoving match between the bulls and bears today. Stocks got a late-session push off their afternoon lows on reports that Trump and China's President Xi Jinping agreed to meet at next month's G-20 summit, but the S&P nevertheless ended the session well below a critical moving average.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
The best and worst stocks after a sell-off.Analysts see opportunity for a Snap stock turnaround.How Alibaba put traders tripled their investment in 4 days. Plus, 2 commodity stocks to buy; Netflix nabs bull notes; and crude futures spiral.The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 25,052.83) tanked 545.9 points, or 2.1%. The Dow was off nearly 699 points at its intraday low, and settled below its 200-day moving average for the first time since July 3. Once again, all 30 blue chips ended in the red, with Microsoft (MSFT) suffering the least on a 0.2% drop. Pfizer (PFE), however, paced the remaining losers, and fell 3.8%.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 2,728.37) shed 57.3 points, or 2.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 7,329.06) dropped 92.9 points, or 1.3%. The SPX closed beneath its 200-day moving average for the first time since April 2. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq briefly traded below 7,298 on an intraday basis -- marking a 10% correction from its Aug. 29 record high close -- but managed to settle north of that level.
The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 24.98), meanwhile, added 2 points, or 8.8%, to hit an eight-month high. The VIX has now surged 106.1% for the month of October.
5 Items on our Radar Today
Billy McFarland, the 27-year-old New York man who led the 2017 Fyre Festival scam that cost investors $27.4 million, was sentenced to six years in prison earlier today. The sentence -- which was reduced from the originally suggested 15 to 20 years -- also follows McFarland's concert ticket scam, which he ran while out on bail. (Bloomberg)Banking giant Wells Fargo (WFC) is making a jump back into mortgage bonds. After JPMorgan Chase, the West Coast-based firm is only the second corporate banking name to securitize mortgages since the 2008 financial crisis. (MarketWatch)Why you should buy these 2 commodity stocks before earnings.Weed stock Tilray took a hit after an analyst downgrade. Analysts are still bullish on Netflix after the sell-off.
Data courtesy of Trade-Alert
Gold Marks Multi-Month High as Market Dips
Oil fell to its lowest close in over two weeks, suffering a steep loss alongside the broader market. The bearish momentum was exacerbated by today's holiday-delayed release of inventory data, which showed bigger-than-forecast climbs in both crude and gasoline stockpiles. November-dated crude futures shed $2.20, or 3%, to close at $70.97 per barrel.
On the flip side, gold futures pushed higher as the market extended its sell-off, and the U.S. dollar softened. December-dated gold added $34.20, or 2.9%, to settle at $1,227.60 per ounce -- its highest close since early August.