It was NOT the worst drop in terms of percentage...take a look and get a perspective:

[Stuart G]

please get a perspective on this...please...

Today the market dropped 4.60 percent
In 87 the market dropped 22.60 percent
On October 4, 1929. the day that the market "crashed"

................market dropped 25.0 percent..

[LanternWaste]

1. Who argued it was the largest percentage drop-off?

Who argued it was the largest percentage drop-off?

Seems to me most everyone is taking it in stride, joking about... no panic. Perspective.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

14. Some people here did ask that question.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210192005#post21

Of course, people here tend to freak out when the Dow loses a couple of hundred points. Clearly many here are very math challenged.

[uponit7771]

2. Over two days it matches 2008, this is a correction so far sans 1 day anomalies.

[LexVegas]

3. Who the fuck is Dow Jones? What the hell is happening???

[Stuart G]

5. What is happening is a "correction" look at post number 2..

Stock market corrections are part of the market movement.

[Wellstone ruled]

4. In today's

instant News Cycling,which is more intense than 87',this accumulated 5+per cent drop is raising loud alarm bells. Your comparisons are valid,but,we have in place all the same Federal Monetary and Market policies that were in place at the same time and place as 1929.

And as we all have learned,I should say some have learned,the Stock Market is based on Truth,Honesty and Trust. Which btw,has been totally undermined by the GOP and Donald Trump.

Until the Feds step in and calm these markets,nothing changes to the upside. We keep losing ground and the underlying Policies wont change.

[BigmanPigman]

6. People with even the most basic knowledge about economics, the market and history know

This and aren't worried yet. If it continues than we will get nervous. I hope his cult/base isn't very savvy about it though and start to panic...maybe then he will be viewed in a less than God-like way. GOOD!

[uppityperson]

7. I remember that day in 87, was in a college class and another instructor kept walking in, writing a

# in the board and walked out.

This afternoon had a precipitous drop, that you have to admit.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. This is why they invented logarithms. Well, not really, but....

Dow tops 25,000 on strong private hiring, global growth hopes

This is why they invented logarithms. Well, not really, but....

To choose numbers at random, suppose the Dow Jones Industrial Average opens one year at 700 points. During the year, it goes up 700 points. It ends the year at 1,400 points.

Suppose it starts another year at 10,000. It goes up 5,000 points. That's seven times the increase of that other year!

Except it isn't.

Going from 700 points to 1,400 points is a bigger percentage increase - which is what counts - than going from 10,000 points to 15,000 points.

In the first example, the average doubled. It increased 100 percent. In the second example, the average increased only 50 percent.

This kind of boasting is for fools.

The actual value of this "event" for people who make steady investments in an IRA or a 401(k) is exactly zero.

[Yonnie3]

17. Is there any other way to look at stock or market prices than with a log scale chart?

I can tell you are on top of this, but for those who might want to see examples, here is a blog post from ages ago that treats this issue:

http://caps.fool.com/Blogs/why-arithmetic-stock-charts/290893

Why Arithmetic Stock Charts Are Worthless

...

Looking at any of this information on the wrong scales will improperly exaggerate signals at the top end of the axis and *hide valuable information* at the lower end of the function axis.

...

Stock price movement is logarithmic / exponential. Sorry, this needs to be emphasized. ALL GAINS AND LOSSES IN THE STOCK MARKET ARE EXPONENTIAL!! NOT ARITHMETIC!!. To see why, consider this example:

Is a 200 point move equivalent to any other 200 point move? NO. If 200 point move A occurs when an index is at 4000 (5%), it is much less meaningful than if a 200 point move B occurs when an index is at 500 (40%).

This is why linear scale stock charts are almost meaningless.

...

[The_Casual_Observer]

9. Face it, nobody knows what is going to happen next.

[Stuart G]

11. Yep, you hit it on the head..nobody knows tomorrow.

So, let's see what tomorrow brings....

[Yonnie3]

10. Are the percentages for '87 and '29 single day?

They seem larger than the single day amounts I have seen.

[Stuart G]

12. Yes, they are for a single day. I got this from google. don't have a link..

other sources may be different.

[Yonnie3]

19. Mine were much larger than 4.6% as well

My source was the second table at https://seekingalpha.com/article/4142967-dows-6th-largest-drop-ever which was pointing out that the Friday drop was 538th not the 6th largest drop.

Anyhow, our point is the same. We agree.

I just finished up re-balancing my stuff a week ago. Taking those profits on stock funds. I will be waiting and seeing now for at least 30 days.

[brooklynite]

13. Vanguard Sees 70% Chance of Correction, Erasing 2017 Returns

The Vanguard Group, the mutual fund and ETF​ giant with about $4.5 trillion under management, warns that the U.S. stock market is long overdue for a correction of 10% or more, and gives a probability of 70% that one will occur in the near future, CNBC reports. Vanguard is a longtime proponent of long-term investing, and issues this warning with the intent of having clients prepare, rather than to frighten them into hastily dumping their equity holdings, CNBC notes. "Having a 10% negative return in the U.S. market in a calendar year has happened 40% of the time since 1960," says Joseph H. Davis, global chief economist at Vanguard, per CNBC. (For more, see also: Is a Stock Market Correction Ahead?)

The commonly-accepted definition of a correction is a decline of 10% or more in the stock market, but with no particular timeframe attached. It may be a short, sharp decline, or a long, slow one. Given that the S&P 500 Index (SPX) has risen by nearly 17% for the year-to-date through Tuesday's open, a 10% correction between then and year-end still would leave the index up by about 5% for 2017. Once a market decline reaches 20% or more, that normally denotes a bear market, especially if the retreat extends over many months, or perhaps years.

https://www.investopedia.com/news/vanguard-sees-70-chance-correction-erasing-2017-returns/

[Stuart G]

15. Thank You for the research....note: 2 out of 3 chance..

I am glad that is stated. It is not for sure, just likely. I have watch the market for a very long time. Anything can happen..that is all I know.

[MichMary]

16. For perspective,

it dropped over 11 points in one day in March, 2009. Remember who was President then? It goes up, it goes down. The only people who actually lose $$$ are those who panic and pull their money out.

[Loki Liesmith]

18. Percentage can be turned into capital

And IIRC this drop is the largest single-day destruction of capital ever.

That matters.

[yallerdawg]

20. "Dow closes down 1,175 in biggest single-day point loss ever!"

That's a headline he can enjoy for the rest of his life!

"Thank you, Mr. Precedent!"

As meaningless as it may be.

[Stuart G]

21. You are correct..and it will be interesting what he tweets tomorrow oh, it was, "Hillary's fault."

[yallerdawg]

23. By the way...

I had my first 401 K plan going in 1987 - from 1985 to 1989.

My employer matched my contribution 100%!

I never even noticed "Black Monday." Those were the days!

[Johnny2X2X]

22. Is this a correction? Or not?

Corrections sometimes have something spurring them, but are generally thought of as just a correction for prices being a little too inflated. This event has more behind it than that, a volitile Bond Market and Inflation concerns are driving this.

We’ll see in the coming days, but this is probably more than a classic correction.

[progree]

24. No. S&P 500 down 7.8% from its peak. Dow 30 down 8.5% from its peak. Just a pullback.

The definition of correction that I've seen is a decline between 10% and 20% from the peak

The S&P 500 peaked at 2873 on January 26, and now sits at 2649. That's a 7.8% decline.

The Dow 30 peaked at 26,617 on January 26, and now sits at 24,346. That's a 8.5% decline.

So we haven't reached 10% yet. I'm using closing prices, which I think is the standard in determining corrections and bear markets.

Bear markets are declines of 20% or more from the peak.

Historically they've always been great buying opportunities. Always.

Historical data for S&P 500:
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5EGSPC/history?p=%5EGSPC

Dow:
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5EDJI/history?p=%5EDJI

[Bengus81]

25. LOL....October 4th 1929??

Nope.........and no the markets didn't drop 25% in one day.

[unblock]

26. Your 1929 info is wrong.

On October 28, 1929, it dropped 12.82%.

Not October 4.