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Stocks Plunge, Market Enters Correction

By Sarah Ponczek, Jeremy Herron

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The dread that gripped equity markets earlier in the week re-emerged Thursday as U.S. stocks plunged on concern that rising interest rates will drag down economic growth.

U.S. stocks fell to two-month lows after a nine-day swoon, erasing their gains for the year. Thursday’s 3.75% loss took the S&P 500 Index’s decline since its Jan. 26 record past 10%, meeting the accepted definition of a correction. The Dow plunged more than 1,000 points. 

The Cboe Volatility Index was more than double its level a week ago. Ten-year Treasury yields retreated from close to their four-year highs as stocks fell, while the yen found traction as a haven from the stock turmoil.

West Texas intermediate crude slid to its low for the year following a report showing record production from U.S. fields. Gold fluctuated.

Traders remain on edge after the resurgent threat of inflation and higher bond yields helped trigger the burst of volatility and a pullback across the overheated global equity market. 

Bulls may have to question the wisdom of buying the dip when more selling by speculators may be imminent. This week’s Treasury auctions have underwhelmed, raising the possibility that the debt selloff could steepen. Investors are also facing the prospect of Fed tightening, which could cool growth.

“There’s some big-money players that have really leveraged to the low rates forever, and they have to unwind those trades,” said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at Voya Investment Management. “They could be in full panic mode right now.”

U.K. gilts sold off and the pound rose after the Bank of England lifted its forecasts for economic growth and suggested it may need to raise interest rates faster than previously indicated. The euro fluctuated as ECB member Jens Weidmann said the central bank will monitor the impact of the currency on inflation. The yuan earlier fell the most since the currency’s devaluation in August 2015 after China reported a much narrower-than-expected trade surplus as imports jumped.

Terminal users can read more in our markets blog.

Here are some events scheduled for the remainder of this week:

Earnings season continues. The Bank of Russia is set to hold a rates decision Friday, with most economists forecasting a cut.

And these are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 Index fell 3.7% as of 3:02 p.m. New York time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 4.1% and the Nasdaq 100 Index fell 4.2%. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 1.6%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index sank 1.5%. The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 1.2%.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced less than 0.05%. The euro fell 0.1% to $1.2247. The British pound increased 0.2% to $1.3907, the first advance in a week. The Japanese yen gained 0.6% to 108.68 per dollar.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 2.83%. Germany’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 0.76%. Britain’s 10-year yield climbed seven basis points to 1.617%, the biggest surge in five weeks.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude declined 2.4% to $60.31 a barrel. Gold fell 0.1% to $1,317.57 an ounce. Copper fell 0.4% to $6,845 per metric ton. The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell 0.2%.

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