As mentioned in last Friday's "Features" post, now that the Dow Jones Industrial Average has sunk below its November lows, all eyes are on the S&P 500 charts.
Will the S&P hold its support at the November lows, or will we see a breakthrough to the downside, confirming the new lows in the Dow?
Well, it seems that the S&P 500 has not only broken through those November lows, it has gone below its lowest close since April 1997. Bloomberg has the details:
"The S&P 500 lost 2.4 percent to 751.44 at 12:56 p.m. in New York, below its lowest close since April 1997. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 157.14 points, or 2.1 percent, to 7,208.53, below its lowest close since October 1997. The Russell 2000 Index lost 2.8 percent. "
Bloomberg also notes that the S&P 500 is down 17 percent on the year, the worst start to a year on record. And given that dividends are falling at the fastest rate since 1955, the S&P 500 is still expensive even after its recent 50% decline.
We've got a few more items to share with you today. Check out these related articles and posts below for Biiwii's charts of the Dow, gold, and $USD index (US dollar).
There's also a great article from Tim Wood on the Dow Theory and the significance of the recent new lows in the Dow Transports and Dow Industrials.
Plus, a new Bloomberg interview with Marc Faber, discussing bank nationalizations, commodities, and the possibility of a stock market rally going forward (which took place before today's open and the subsequent new lows in the Dow and S&P 500).
