05Feb2018 Market Close: Wall Street Loses More Than $1 Trillion In Value In February, Dow Drops More Than 1,175 Points In Wild Day, SP 500 Turns Negative For 2018, Big Board's Biggest One-day Drop

Written by Gary

US stocks tumble today (SPY -4.2%), with the Dow poised for its biggest single-session point drop in history, as the market’s selloff at times took on characteristics of panic sales. (But folks, just a dip, this isn’t the ‘big’ selloff.)

Todays S&P 500 Chart

The Market in Perspective

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Dow briefly falls more than 10 percent from high NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Dow briefly fell more than 10 percent from its Jan. 26 record high on Monday before paring losses to trade above its lows of the day.
	U.S. services sector activity jumps to 12-1/2-year high WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. services sector activity raced to a near 12-1/2-year high in January, buoyed by robust growth in new orders, the latest sign of strong momentum in the economy at the start of the year.
	Broadcom unveils $121 billion ‘best and final’ offer for Qualcomm (Reuters) – Broadcom Ltd made a $121 billion “best and final offer” on Monday to acquire Qualcomm Inc, ratcheting up pressure on its U.S. semiconductor peer to engage in talks on what would be the biggest ever technology acquisition.
	Fed restrictions continue to badger Wells Fargo; U.S. banks down (Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co’s shares fell as much as 9.4 percent to $58.05 on Monday, sparking a sector-wide sell off after the Federal Reserve imposed regulatory restrictions on the bank, forcing it to improve its governance and controls in the wake of the sales scandal.
	Bitcoin extends slide, falls below $7,000 NEW YORK (Reuters) – Digital currency bitcoin fell more than 15 percent on Monday to a nearly three-month low amid a slew of concerns ranging from a global regulatory clampdown to a ban on using credit cards to buy bitcoin by British and U.S. banks.
	Lawmakers, advocates urge Trump administration to resume Equifax probe WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Consumer advocates on Monday urged the Trump administration to resume an investigation into how Equifax failed to protect the personal data of millions of consumers after Reuters reported the head of the U.S. consumer watchdog has pulled back on the existing probe.
	Qualcomm shares fall as reports say Apple may scrap its chips (Reuters) – Qualcomm Inc’s shares fell 3 percent on Monday after two brokerages said Apple Inc might drop the chipmaker in favor of Intel Corp as the supplier for modem chips in its next generation of iPhones.
	Buffett’s BNSF railroad eyes blockchain for shipping freight NEW YORK (Reuters) – Warren Buffett’s railroad is taking a ride on the blockchain.
	A decade after recession, a jump in U.S. states with wage gains OAKLAND, Calif./CANTON, N.Y./WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The kind of pay raises for which American workers have waited years are now here for a broadening swath of the country, according to a Reuters analysis of state-by-state data that suggests falling unemployment has finally begun boosting wages.
	Turmoil: Dow Devastated, Bond Yields Flash-Crash, Bitcoin Bloodbaths CNBC Pisani: “This has the feel of a textbook pullback” Only Nasdaq remains green in 2018… Some headlines… S&P 500 CLOSES DOWN 113.33 POINTS, OR 4.10 PERCENT, AT 2,648.80 DOW JONES CLOSES DOWN 1,176.68 POINTS, OR 4.61 PERCENT, AT 24,344.28 NASDAQ UNOFFICIALLY CLOSES DOWN 271.50 POINTS, OR 3.75 PERCENT, AT 6,969.45 Selling continues after the close… Does that look like a ‘textbook’ pullback? Someone got a major tap on the shoulder… This is Jay Powell’s first full ‘official’ day on the job!
	Cryptos Are Suddenly Soaring Just as the S&P plummeted into the abyss, tumbling to a low of 24,022 or over 1,500 points… … cryptos found a bid, and after plunging all day in what until this afternoon was one of the worst days for bitcoin and the crypto space in history, cryptos suddenly blasted off and soared at precisely 3pm just as stocks were crashing, in the process undoing much of today’s staggering losses. The move prompted some to ask if the new “great rotation” is out of crashing equities and into post-crash cryptos? The good news: the 3pm is still here. The bad news, if only for stocks, is that it now appears to target cryptocurrencies.
	FBI Accused Of Blocking Key Details On “Trump Dossier” Author Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley’s push to force the DOJ to open a criminal investigation into ex-British spy and “Trump dossier” author Christopher Steele is being met with resistance from the bureau, the latest sign that it doesn’t want information about its relationship with Steele to be shared with the public. Bloomberg reported Monday that Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley criticized the FBI for blocking the release of key portions of a memo he wrote calling for a criminal investigation of Christopher Steele, the former British spy who compiled a dossier of unverified allegations on Donald Trump. Grassley also released the memo in its redacted form to the press. “Seeking transparency and cooperation should not be this challenging,” Grassley said in a statement after posting a heavily redacted version of the criminal referral that he and GOP Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina sent to the Justice Department last month. “The government should not be blotting out information that it admits isn’t secret.” Grassley has been pursuing questions about the FBI’s reliance on Steele separately from House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, the author of the four-page “FISA memo” that was released last week and inspired President Trump to declare that he has been “vindicated” by its findings. Conservative lawmakers have demanded that President Trump fire Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein, the official responsible for supervising the Mueller probe – and some have even called for Mueller’s firing. But others, including outgoing Congressman and
	Dow Crashes As Much As 1500 Points As Bond Yields Flash-Crash Treasury yields just flash-crashed… 30Y back below 3.00% And The Dow dropped as much as 1500 points… Sending the Dow underwater for 2018… The VIX has surged as high as 35.
	Are Americans Falling Out of Love With Chocolate? As Valentine’s Day approaches, investors should ask: How special is chocolate? Cocoa-based candy has maintained much of its appeal even as U.S. consumers have turned away from other sugary or highly processed foods. But cracks are starting to show.
	Samsung Saga Shows Korea Reform Is Going Nowhere The release of the Samsung’s de facto leader, Lee Jae-yong, will do little to allay investors’ concerns about the country’s corporate governance standards.
	China Shows How It Will Fight a Trade War China’s grand strategy for bloodying the Trump administration’s nose if a trade war erupts is emerging. Sunday’s anti-dumping investigation into U.S. sorghum looks like the first warning shot.
	The Tell: It’s not the first time these dollar correlations have accompanied stock-market turbulence The U.S. dollar’s correlations with equity benchmarks, yield differentials and the overall yield curve are plotting a rare pattern that has never been a good omen in the past, says BNY Mellon’s chief currency strategist Simon Derrick.
	Trump Today: Trump Today: President blasts Democrats’ ‘treasonous’ State of the Union reactions as he promotes tax law in Ohio President Donald Trump on Monday said Democrats who didn’t applaud during the State of the Union address could be called “treasonous,” and accused the House Intelligence Committee’s top Democrat of illegally leaking confidential information, as he promoted his tax law in Ohio.
	Market Snapshot: Dow runs risk of worst one-day point drop in history as mood turns panicky U.S. stocks tumble Monday, with the Dow poised for its biggest single-session point drop in history, as the market’s selloff at times took on characteristics of panic sales.