‘Ugly, Ugly Day’: CNBC Analysts Deliver Alarming Post-Mortem After Dow’s Historic 2,000+ Point Tank Job

The Dow Jones Industrial Average faced its single largest point drop ever on Monday, as the number of coronavirus cases increases worldwide and investors fear a potential oil price war.

“Take a look at this ugly, ugly day on Wall Street,” CNBC’s Sara Eisen remarked after the closing bell rang, later adding, “Also, getting crushed, this was a broad selling day, down 7.3%, the worst day, it looks like, for the Nasdaq since 2011.”

“Obviously brutal. The markets rushed toward a place to say we have to start handicapping the probabilities of a recession in this country,” Mike Santoli, CNBC’s senior markets commentator, responded during a panel following the market’s close.

“There’s a lot of unease and bad vibrations in the market, that’s the way it is before you get some kind of a big reversal rally, but it’s also the way it is before the market deepens into a deeper correction,” he added.

“The problem is, the fundamentals have been weak for a while, and the coronavirus is, as I’ve been saying, an extremely heavy straw on a very weak camel’s back,” Cantor Fitzgerald’s Peter Cecchini additionally stated.

The drastic declines followed last week’s rollercoaster week, which saw the S&P 500 swing up and down more than 2.5% for several days straight. This week’s start marks another hectic week, as the major averages all dropped more than 7%.

The Dow plummeted 2,018 points, for a drop of 7.8%, while the S&P 500 dropped 7.6% and the Nasdaq fell by 7.3%. Monday’s drop was additionally one of the 20 worst days for the S&P 500.

Amid growing tensions between Saudi Arabia and Russia, oil prices also plunged 24% on Monday, marking the worst day in that sector since 1991.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude faced its second-worst day on record, as it fell 24.59%, or $10.15, and settled at $31.13 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude slid $10.91, or 24.1%, to settle at $34.36 per barrel.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note also faced all-time lows, as it dropped below 0.5%, while the 30-year rate breached 1%.

Watch above, via CNBC.