In fact the last time we had three straight positive closes was toward the end of December 2007, some 27 trading days ago, for the DJIA and S&P500, and 29 days in the past for the NASDAQ.
Yet in the 250 trading days of 2007, the NASDAQ index turned in a third positive day 21 times, or at the rate of one every 12 days. The DJIA, with 19 of these had a positive third day every 13 days, and the S&P500 had an average of once every 16 days.
Today was also the third day after the latest Fed Funds cut, another consideration in evaluating todays market drop. Increases are the usual response, even this late after the announcement date. Indeed, over the last 21 Fed cuts, prices increased 13 times, and decreased only 8 times, for the DJIA and the S&P500; the NASDAQ had a smaller share of positive changes on the third day after a Fed Fund cut, only 11 compared to 10 negative days.
DJIA -.85 percent
NASDAQ -1.24 percent
S&P500 -1.05 percent