[Subjectivist]

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged about 400 points in early trade Monday as a 7% drop in Chinese shares stoked a global selloff in stocks.

The Dow DJIA, -2.53% plunged nearly 411 points to 17,015, led by a drop in DuPont Co. DD, -4.37% and American Express Co. AXP, -3.35%

See live blog: U.S. stocks unravel on renewed China worries in 2016

The S&P 500 SPX, -2.46% fell about 45 points to 1,998, led by a decline in technology stocks, financials and industrials. Only the S&P 500’s energy sector showed a modest gain as Middle Eastern tensions helped lift crude-oil prices.

“It is not surprising to see such a selloff considering negative headlines from China and tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. What is surprising is that it is happening on the first day of the year,” said Ryan Larson, head of equity trading at RBC Global Asset Management.

“While trading desk are busier than they normally would be on Mondays, this is not a panic selling, it’s orderly. We are likely to see this kind of volatility a lot in 2016,” Larson said.

The S&P 500-tracking “SPY” ETF opened down nearly 2%. According to Bespoke Investment Group analysts, since the SPY SPY, -2.35% began trading in 1994, the ETF has opened lower on the first trading day of the year only twice in 22 years, and never by more than 1%.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-sto ... 2016-01-04

[GHung]

"When China catches a cold....."

[Subjectivist]

"When China catches a cold....."

I think it runs much deeper than that. From fall 2008 on the Western Democracies have had basically free money being thrown at the system in an attempt to keep BAU running as long as possible. Even with all that free money flowing out GDP has been anemic or if you believe some posters here negative. The stock market was turned into the biggest bubble ever and so far every time it started to pop the central banks were able to keep it inflated. That game can't last forever, maybe this is the big pop, maybe not, I am not a psychic!

[GHung]

My comment was intended to be ironical. It used to be "when the US catches a cold"... Just sayin' things have changed a lot in the last 20 years.

[onlooker]

Which is to say the Stock markets are not very relevant anymore other than boosting or deflating confidence. Which is really silly since they have become so disconnected from the real economy as to be meaningless as a real indicator of economic circumstances and dynamics. Nevertheless, in so much as economics is about perception as much as reality, they still play a role. They also are the gambling dens of the super rich and wealthy banks and institutions.

[KaiserJeep]

This may be an opportunity to buy if it dips low enough to justify the risk.

[GHung]

U.S. manufacturing index at worst level since 2009
http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/04/news/ec ... -stack-dom

First China, now the United States.

America's manufacturing sector shrank for the second straight month in December. The industry's key index -- ISM -- hit 48.2% in December, the lowest mark since June 2009. Anything below 50% is a contraction and a month ago it hit 48.6%.

The index has fallen for six straight months.

"The trend is certainly heading in a direction that would ring alarm bells," says Sam Bullard, senior economist at Wells Fargo.

It's bad news especially after a private survey on Monday showed that China's factory sector had decelerated further. The weak data from China sparked off a global selloff in stock markets.

The U.S. manufacturing contraction didn't help: the Dow fell over 400 points to new intraday lows after ISM came out.

Gosh, did an MSM outlet actually use the 'C' word? Worry not, though, plenty of comments at the article say we can do fine indefinitely having a service economy without a healthy manufacturing sector. Making things is soooo 20th century.

[onlooker]

Except when globalization reverses and contraction and isolation set in. Then manufacturing suddenly becomes cool again. What comes around goes around.

[KaiserJeep]

This may be an opportunity to buy if it dips low enough to justify the risk.

You mus have cojones like el Matador (or his pitiful mistress, el Toro) to enter the Ring now.

Nope, I have a 401K and like many hapless individuals, will owe huge taxes and penalties if I pull the money out prematurely. Most is in conventional Mutual Funds, some in the stock of my former employer, and all I really get to do in terms of "managing my money" is to transfer some portion from one plan option to another. The IRS regulations forbid any other activity, and somehow my employer omitted adding a "Gold Coins to hide under the mattress" option to our 401K plan.

Huge swathes of the Middle Class are in the same pickle. If things go South in a big way, the elites will (I have no doubt) scoop up all the stashes of the Middle Class as THEY leave the market.

Well, pitchforks are $38 at the local Orchard Supply Hardware, and I know how to make reasonable torches (hardwood dowels, a sheet metal drip guard underneath the head, and tightly-wound cotton rags saturated in petroleum jelly).

[GHung]

onlooker said; "Then manufacturing suddenly becomes cool again."

Manufacturing consent has been cool for years, and quite profitable.

[Cog]

This may be an opportunity to buy if it dips low enough to justify the risk.

yep.

[Subjectivist]

This may be an opportunity to buy if it dips low enough to justify the risk.

yep.

How low is low enough? I would love to pick up more railroad stocks, but prices have been way to high for my taste the last couple years.

[Tanada]

looking pretty rough all over!

http://www.cnbc.com/stocks/

[Subjectivist]

Screenshot from Tanada's link at 3:02 pm.

[onlooker]

Time: 3:16 pm EST. Dow down 415

[Newfie]

I'm sorry, sits all my fault. You see I'm retiring tomorrow and, well, it's inevitable that my retirement investments tank just as I retire.

[Outcast_Searcher]

I'm sorry, sits all my fault. You see I'm retiring tomorrow and, well, it's inevitable that my retirement investments tank just as I retire.

LOL (hopefully this is just a short, normal dip or small correction, BTW -- laughing with you, NOT at you)

I retired, after careful planning, in July 2007. I must admit that about 15-24 months later my luck seemed less than stellar on the timing front.

Time does heal all wounds, etc. but I'm always amused by the frequency of the number of "Ziggies" I know who are (semi-seriously) convinced that investments crash in tune to their timing decisions.

[GoghGoner]

One year ago, we started talking about commodity prices that haven't been this low since 2009. Today, stocks are catching up. Grass grows slowly.

Nasdaq posts most intraday lows since depths of 2008 crisis

The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 400 points in morning trade with IBM contributing the most to declines. The Nasdaq composite underperformed, trading more than 3 percent lower.

The S&P 500 fell more than 2.5 percent to trade around 1,825, near its lowest since October 2014.

The number of new Nasdaq lows surpassed the late August total of 765, the highest since Nov. 21, 2008, when 1,211 Nasdaq stocks made 52-week lows, according to Reuters.