US Markets

The sell-off by the numbers: Stocks post worst 2-day stretch in eight months

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
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Stocks sold off again on Thursday, adding to the previous session's onslaught, as investors dumped equities around the globe because of fears of rapidly rising interest rates.

The financials and energy sectors were the biggest laggards on Thursday, falling around 3 percent each. Tech shares like Apple, Alphabet and Netflix failed to rebound after posting steep losses. These losses dragged the indexes down, pushing them to their worst two-day decline in eight months.

Check out some of the stats from the aftermath of Thursday's onslaught:

  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 545.91 points to post its worst two-day decline since early February. In that time, the Dow has lost more than 1,300 points. The index also posted a three-day losing streak and closed below its 200-day moving average for the first time since July 2. It is also down 5.3 percent, on pace for its biggest one-week decline since March.
  • The completed a six-day losing streak — its longest since late 2016 — and closed below its 200-day moving average for the first time since April 2. The index is down 5.5 percent this week, on pace for its biggest weekly decline since March. It is also on pace for its first three-week losing streak since June 2016.
  • The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.3 percent to post its fifth loss in six sessions. It is also on pace for its worst weekly decline since March. The tech-heavy index also dipped into correction territory.
  • The Russell 2000 fell for a sixth straight day, its longest losing streak since March 2017. The small-caps index is also down 5.3 percent this week, on pace for its biggest weekly decline since January 2016.
  • Gold rallied 2.9 percent to hit $1,230 per ounce, its highest level since Aug. 2.
  • Trading volume rose sharply. The volume on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF totaled more than 272 million, well above the 30-day average of 72.8 million. U.S. composite volume clocked in at 8.1 billion shares, above its 50-day average of 5.66 billion shares.
  • The Cboe Volatility index (VIX), widely considered to be the best gauge of fear in the market, hit a high of 28.84, its highest level since Feb. 12.
  • Four of the 11 S&P 500 sectors closed in correction territory. Materials concluded Thursday's session down 16.3 percent from its 52-week high, while financials were down nearly 13 percent. Communications and consumer staples are both down more than 11 percent from their one-year highs.