Market downturn worsens as Dow plummets

U.S. stocks tumbled a second day, with major averages notching wild swings in heavy volume. Treasuries surged after a strong 30-year auction, the dollar fell with oil, and gold, that traditional safe haven, posted its biggest gain in more than two years.

The S&P 500 Index fell more than 2 percent for a second straight day and is now in its longest slide since 2016. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 500 points. Tech shares that bore the brunt of the selling Wednesday fared relatively better Thursday, though the Nasdaq 100 Index’s losses from an August record reached 8 percent.

“All of a sudden, you got that severe downturn because the results of the 30year note auction were better than expected and people said ‘We’re going to shift now,”’ said Donald Selkin, chief market strategist at Newbridge Securities. “It was asset allocation, it was a plunge. That’s unusual. That’s not a normal rate of decline. That’s an accelerated rate of decline. It was an algorithm on the asset allocation because it took place after the bond auction which was better than expected.”

The S&P 500 is at a threemonth low after a 6 percent slide in what’s the longest slump of Donald Trump’s presidency. Energy shares bore the brunt of selling after oil plunged by more than 3 percent. Financial firms also contributed heavily to the losses, with banks and insurers down at least 2.5 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 surrendered an earlier rally and added to its 4.4 percent decline on Wednesday. Trading was heavy with volume surging roughly 65 percent above average for this time over the past 30 days.