And we have our first big sell-off of the year.
First, the scoreboard:
Dow: 12,759.1, -203.6, -1.5%
S&P 500: 1,343.3, -20.9, -1.5%
NASDAQ: 2,910.3, -40.1, -1.3%
And now, the top stories:
- This was a big, broad global market sell-off. It started in Asia with the big cyclical industrial companies selling off sharply. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2.1 percent.
- According to the EU, GDP in the 17 country eurozone contracted by 0.3 percent in Q4, which was largely expected. But it wasn't exactly good news either. European stock markets sold off sharply, booking their biggest losses in four months. Germany's DAX sank by 3 percent. What A Greek Default Would Cost Europe And The World >
- Selling continued right into the U.S. trading session where stocks sank at the open. Financial sector stocks led the way lower. Morgan Stanley was the biggest loser, but Goldman Sachs and Citigroup weren't far behind.
- Oil prices pulled back, but still remain high at near $105 per barrel. And it's not helping that the situation in Iran remains tense. UBS's Julius Walker laid out a worse-case scenario of a complete shutdown of Iranian oil, which could cause oil to explode to $270 per barrel. Walker also ranked the ten countries that would get screwed in an Iranian oil shutdown. Marc Faber: War With Iran Is 'Almost Inevitable' >
- Gold provided no safe haven today, falling around $30 per ounce to $1,670. 10 Countries With The Biggest Gold Reserves In The World >
- It wasn't all bad news today. Canada's Ivey PMI number surged to 66.5, beating economists' expectation for a decline to 62.0. Not surprisingly, this had no obvious impact on today's trading.
- Today was the the worst day for stocks all year. So, what's next? Morgan Stanley Smith Barney offers 5 reasons to be bullish and 7 reasons to be bearish.
- More importantly, what will this Friday's February BLS employment situation report tell us? We're actually sensing a bullish tone right now from economists. Deutsche Bank's Joe Lavorgna wrote in a note today that he expected +255k on the headline nonfarm payroll number. The consensus currently stands at a gain of +210k. Ed Yardeni is calling for a "beanstalk" of a number.
- DON'T MISS: COFFEE, GAS, COLLEGE TUITION: Here's A Look At Everything Priced In Gold >
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See Also:
- STILL NO BIG SELL-OFF: Here's What You Need To Know
- Markets Are Falling Around The World
- If Analysts Are As Wrong As Usual, Then Oil Is Headed To $135 Per Barrel This Year