October 9, 2008
This does not happen often. Indeed, it is the first time in this century that S&P500 hit the skids seven days in a row! And todays -7.62 percent loss is only the fourth time, since 1950, that the S&P500 dropped that much in one day. Furthermore, with the exception of the -8.8 percent of Monday a week ago, on September 29, there has been no other since 1987.
Similarly, todays DJIAs -7.33 percent plunge is its third deepest in 58 years, recording its first seven down days in a row since 2002. By comparison, the NASDAQ loss of -5.47 percent seems mild; yet with the exception of two recent days Monday a week ago and the day before yesterday- such sharp reversals last occurred in 2001. As for the frequency of seven down days in a row, today marks just the sixths time since January 2000.
Yesterdays look at the past failed to indicate todays market action. As for tomorrow, in the past, the S&P500 has never fallen eight days in a row. While the DJIA experienced this twice in this century, the next days were split evenly with one further decline and one reversal. The NASDAQ, which had five runs of seven successive negative days since 2000, floundered three times for a further, eighth decline, compared to two gains on the next day.
DJIA -7.33 percent
NASDAQ -5.47 percent
S&P500 -7.62 percent