Stocks sold off hard into the close as the Dow Jones industrial average joined the other key market indexes by giving up its 50-day moving average.
XThe S&P 500 sank 3.3%, extending its losing streak for a fifth straight session and nearing a test of its 200-day line. It was its third worst single-day percentage drop this year. The broad sell-off took down all 30 Dow components, as the blue chip index stumbled 3.1%. The Dow closed below its 50-day line for the first time since July 6.
Only one blue chip had held a gain heading into the final hour: Home Depot (HD). But with the sell-off ramping up into the close, Home Depot finished with a 0.6% loss. Microsoft (MSFT), Boeing (BA) and Nike (NKE) were among stocks tumbling 4% or more.
Apple (AAPL) also sank more than 4% for its first close below the 50-day line since July 3. But its stock chart looks better than most other big-cap techs, relatively speaking. Apple could still find support at the line and stage a rebound, or it could form a new base as it continues to trade between 215 and 234.
The small-cap Russell 2000 index fell 2.8%. It sliced below its 200-day line, where it had found support the prior few sessions.
Tech stocks were among the hardest hit, as the Nasdaq composite plunged 4.1% for its biggest single-day percentage drop this year. The tech-heavy index fell right through its 200-day line. The last big drop was 3.9% on Feb. 8. Wednesday marked the worst day since June 24, 2016, when the Nasdaq cratered 4.12%, the day of the Brexit shock.
Volume was sharply higher on both the NYSE and Nasdaq, according to preliminary data.
Bond Yields Up, Stocks Down
Stocks fell as bond yields continued to rise. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 3.22%. On Tuesday, the yield hit a seven-year high of 3.26%. Rising bond yields sent the S&P 500 down as much as 12% between late January and early February.
Most industry groups suffered big losses, with apparel makers, internet retail and transportation stocks among the worst performers. Gold miners and dairy products makers were among the few sectors bucking the sell-off.
Growth stock got slammed — nearly all of the IBD 50 stocks got hit. Only Sabra Healthcare REIT (SBRA), up 0.6%, managed a small early gain. But it ended with a 0.4% loss. Control4 (CTRL), Match Group (MTCH), Health Insurance Innovation (HIIQ) and Grubhub (GRUB) were among IBD 50 stocks down at least 8%.
Other big IBD 50 tech names taking a beating included Netflix (NFLX), down 7.5%, Nvidia (NVDA), down 6.7% and Adobe (ADBE), which shed 5.7%.
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) plunged nearly 6% as it fell further below its 200-day line.
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