Markets are dropping like a rock. Went down more than 4% in less than a minute.Seemed like that the whole financial system was unravelling. The European problem that has been festering over the last 2 weeks suddenly seemed to hit the market in full force and weight.Euro is dropping like its a sub-Saharan currency while gold has hit more than $1200/ounce. Was’nt around in 1987 to see the biggest one day crash , but I guess the PPT (Plunge Protection Team) which is rumored should be around to prevent that.As I write this market has recoverd by 3%.US Treasuries which are considered as the safe have has climbed by almost 10% while yen is up more than 5% against the dollar reflecting the “safe haven” move towards these assets.
Wall Street washout – MarketWatch
Google+U.S. stocks caved on Thursday, with the Dow industrials down more than 500 points and poised for their second triple-digit drop in three days, as investors pondered the implications of Europe’s financial troubles on Wall Street.
“You can go back to Goldman Sachs Friday when the market sold off. Since then the market has been prone to headline risk and looking for a reason to sell off,” said Jay Suskind, senior vice president at Duncan-Williams.
“Is the market now seeing Greece and Europe as the canary in the coal mine for us? We all know we have budget and deficit issues,” Suskind said.
After brief bursts into positive territory, the major U.S. stock indexes gave way, as the euro fell to a 14-month low against the dollar and crude-oil futures traveled to two-month lows under $80 a barrel.
Nearly 10 stocks were falling for every one on the rise on the New York Stock Exchange, where 647 million shares had traded as of 2:35 p.m. Eastern. Composite volume neared 6.5 billion.
“While the situation in Europe will potentially have only a small impact on the U.S. recovery, it remains an important export and import market for many countries and the euro is second only to the dollar as a universal transaction currency,” Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at Davidson Cos., wrote in a note.
Exposed
“U.S. companies with substantial European exposure may get hurt, as products with a dollar cost basis suddenly have become more expensive in Europe,” Dickson added.
