The stock market had one of its most turbulent days in history as the Dow Jones industrials fell to a loss of almost 1,000 points in less than half an hour on fears that Greece’s debt problems could halt the global economic recovery.
The market’s plunge came less than 90 minutes before the end of trading. The Dow’s drop was its largest loss ever during the course of a trading day, but it recovered to a loss of 347 at the close. All the major indexes lost more than 3 percent.
There were reports that the sudden drop was caused by a trader who mistyped an order to sell a large block of stock. The drop in that stock’s price was enough to trigger “sell” orders across the market.
Still, the Dow was already down more than 200 points as traders watched protests in the streets of Athens on TV. Protestors raged against austerity measures passed by the Greek parliament. Read more…
U.S. stocks followed European markets sharply lower Tuesday after Standard & Poor’s downgraded the debt of Greece and Portugal. The rating agency’s move intensified investors’ fears that Europe’s debt problems are spreading.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 213 points at 10,991.99 on Tuesday afternoon. All the major market indexes were down more than 2 percent.
The ratings downgrades sent the dollar up more than 1.1 percent against the euro, hitting its highest level in about a year. At the same time, gold and Treasury prices also rose as investors sought safer investments. The three often do not trade in the same direction.
“It was a knee-jerk reaction,” said Brian Peardon, a wealth adviser at Harrison Financial Group in Citrus Heights, Calif. Peardon said the small size of Greece and Portugal’s economies mean their debt struggles are not yet a major problem. Read more…