On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1,031.54 points, or 3.55%, its biggest point drop in nearly two years. The S&P 500 also had its worst trading day since February 2018, falling 3.35% to 3,225.89 and erasing its year-to-date gains, while the Nasdaq Composite closed 3.7% lower at 9,221.28. When markets move one way or another, analysts rush to provide an explanation, despite the fact that sometimes there isn’t a simple answer for why, in Wall Street terms, things “shit the bed.”
***Today though, it appears pretty obvious that the biggest factor was the combination of a surge in coronavirus cases outside of China and the realization that Donald Trump has no idea what he’s doing in terms of a response, which is true in most circumstances but particularly worrisome when a deadly virus is concerned.***