May 23, 2011 Another Decline
Prices continued to decline and the end of the day, the NASDAQ was off -1.58 percent, the S&P500 dropped 1.19 percent while the DJIA lost -1.05 percent. Considering just the 90-some sessions of this year, todays S&P500 change ranks as number 6 from the bottom. By comparison, before the market topped out in October 2007, todays S&P500 decline of -1.19 percent would have occupied the 31st smallest position.
Similarly, todays NASDAQ and DJIA losses occupy number nine from the bottom so far this year. Their positions in the ten months before prices declined were number 13 and number 20.
Evaluating these positions, todays rank compared to those of 2007, allows some insights into what may develop this year. For example, the 94 days this year are roughly one-half of the 187 days in 2007 before prices fell in October. Yet todays S&P500 decline would have occupied the 33rd worst place in 2007, whereas its actual position is only number six.
That is, in 2007, there were 30 worse or larger declines than 1.19 percent before the market crashed. Today we have only five deeper losses.
DJIA -1.05 percent
NASDAQ -1.58 percent
S&P500 -1.19 percent