January 20, 2017

19, 827.25.

I remember it because I was in D.C. getting ready for the Women’s March.

March 19, 2020

19, 898.92

And that’s where we start.

Stock futures point to more losses a day after the Dow closed below 20,000 for first time since 2017
by Fred Imbert and Thomas Franck, CNBC
Published Wed, Mar 18 2020

Futures contracts tied to the major U.S. stock indexes pointed to more losses at the open Thursday, building on the previous session’s steep losses as the coronavirus crisis rages on.

As of 8:33 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down more than 500 points, implying an opening loss of more than 400 points. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also fell.

“Markets are clearly in a state of panic and forced liquidations – but risks remain skewed to the upside and this should become much more apparent once some of the solvency issues are addressed,” Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, said in a note.

Higher-than-expected jobless claims data also pressured investor sentiment. Last week, 281,000 people filed for unemployment benefits in the U.S., well above a Dow Jones estimate of 220,000.

The moves followed yet another violent day on Wall Street on Wednesday as investors swung back to pessimism after Tuesday’s 6% bounce.

The Dow dropped 1,338.46 points, or 6.3%, on Wednesday and clinched its first close below 20,000 since February 2017. The Dow was down more than 2,300 points at the lows of the session. The S&P 500 dropped 5.2% to 2,398.10 and closed nearly 30% below a record set last month as both indexes sank further into bear markets.