Dow Plunges Nearly 3,000 Points At Close, Marking the Worst Point Drop Ever

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The Dow Jones Industrial Averaged faced its worst point drop ever on Monday, as it fell 2,997 points at the close, or 12.9%. This is the largest percentage drop since the “Black Monday” market crash in October 1987, and the third-largest percentage drop ever.

The Dow was briefly down more than 3,000 points during the final minutes of trading. The S&P 500 dropped 12%, marking its worst day since December 2018, while the Nasdaq Composite also faced its worst day ever as it fell 12.3%.

After Monday’s losses, the Dow is now down 31.7% from its all-time high, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are more than 29% below the records set last month.

Liz Ann Sonders, Chief Investment Strategist at Charles Schwab, said on Twitter that the Dow is “back to early 2017 levels,” meaning it has erased three years of gains.

Dow back to early 2017 levels pic.twitter.com/bbe2qGHc9C

— Liz Ann Sonders (@LizAnnSonders) March 16, 2020

The circuit breaker was also triggered for the third time in the last week, leading to a 15-minute halt in trading shortly after the opening.

According to CNBC, all of the major averages fell to their lowest points after President Donald Trump said the coronavirus outbreak could last until August during a briefing on Covid-19. Trump also told reporters that the U.S. “may be” facing a recession.

Fox Business anchor Stuart Varney also said on Monday morning that he thinks “we are in a recession right now.”