Recap: Markets Tumble Around the World

The global stock-market selloff continued in a wild session Monday, as traders pushed stocks lower on the heels of the steepest one-week decline in years for many major markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly plummeted more than 1,000 points, its largest intraday move ever. The S&P 500 entered correction territory, finishing down 3.9% to 1893. European equities also dropped, with the Stoxx Europe 600 finishing the day down 5.6%.

The steep declines came after a rout in Chinese shares wiped out gains in that country's market for the year. Oil prices continued to drop, the U.S. dollar weakened, and Treasurys surged as investors sought the relative safety of government bonds.

Fears that China’s economy is slowing dramatically sparked the heavy selling around the globe. Beijing’s unexpected move to devalue its currency two weeks ago raised the alarm that the world’s second-largest economy may be in worse shape than many investors had thought. Since then, weak economic data have fueled worries that a drop-off in Chinese growth could cause a global slowdown.

We spent the day tracking all the markets, from stocks to soybeans, and compiling all the reaction as it came in. Here's how it all went down.

4:58 pm | It was a day no one on Wall Street will soon forget. Even if they'd like to. | by Erik Holm

They were calling this "Black Monday" in China before U.S. stocks even got out of bed.

And when the U.S. market opened, stocks didn't get out of bed--they fell out.

It was a wild day by any measure, but the superlative we'll hang our hat on is the nearly 1100-point drop in the Dow that happened in just a few minutes right after the open. It was the biggest intraday move for the Dow ever. Meanwhile, the S&P entered correction territory and over 1,000 stocks hit their 52-week lows.

It was a day no one on Wall Street will soon forget. Even if they'd like to.

Thanks for joining us.

4:51 pm | Selling comes on heavy volume | by Kristen Scholer

NYSE total volume settled at 6.6 billion shares, the heaviest day in nearly four years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Market Data Team. That's almost two times the average daily volume this year of 3.5 billion shares.

4:50 pm | Today's open "was like 1,000 little 'flash crashes' at once." | by Dan Strumpf

The NYSE invoked Rule 48 as a way to ensure smooth trading before the market opened Monday. An avalanche of trading halts followed as stocks hit their circuit breakers. Dave Lutz of JonesTrading notes that bids in the ETF market “seemed to vanish.” He adds in a daily note: “It seems the ETF arbitrage community opted to sit out the first few minutes,” Lutz writes. “I’m just wondering what happened structurally there, that’s the bigger issue. It was like 1,000 little ‘flash crashes’ at once.”

4:39 pm | Wait and see for corporate bond traders | by Sarah Krouse

Corporate bond investors hoping to benefit from a rocky stretch for markets took a wait and see approach on Monday. Patrick Maldari, a New York-based senior fixed income specialist at Aberdeen Asset Management, said his team reduced its energy exposure late last year and is now waiting for new opportunities to arise.

“We were a little surprised that yields haven’t moved lower than they have given the dramatic decline in the equity market,” he said.

Tom O’Reilly, co-head of non-investment grade fixed income at Neuberger Berman, has been adding to the cash balances in some of the portfolios he manages over the last month, increasing levels to between 3% and 6% compared to a typical 1% to 2% buffer. He hopes to buy higher-quality bonds at a discount if other managers are forced to sell out of their positions to meet investor redemptions. Mr. O’Reilly said he had not seen a lot of outflow-related selling to date, but expects managers to face further pressure if equity markets remain stressed.

“I don’t think there’s a lot to do in the market right now,” he said.

4:35 pm | S&P 500 five-session losses: 10% | by Paul Vigna

Here's the pertinent stats for the S&P 500 after today's selloff. The index is now down 8.05% on the year, and we wonder how long it'll be before the last bull takes down that 2200 or even 2300 year-end prediction.

The S&P is off 10% over the past five sessions alone, and that five-day loss is the worst since 2011. The index is now down 11.2% from its May high.

The index is now back where it was in October, Oct. 17, to be precise, and that, incidentally is before the Fed officially closed the books on QE3.

- The S&P 500 Index is down 77.68 points or 3.94% today to 1893.21.

- Largest one day point decline since Monday, August 08, 2011.

- Largest one day percentage decline since Thursday, August 18, 2011.

- Down for five consecutive trading days.

- Down 209.23 points or 9.95% over the last five trading days.

- Largest five day percentage decline since Wednesday, August 10, 2011.

- Longest losing streak since Monday, July 27, 2015 when the market fell for five straight trading days.

- Off 11.15% from its record close of 2130.82 hit Thursday, May 21, 2015.

- Up 179.84% from its Bear low of 676.53 hit Monday, March 09, 2009.

- Lowest closing value since Friday, October 17, 2014.

- Off 11.15% from its 52 week high of 2130.82 hit Thursday, May 21, 2015.

- Up 1.65%(rounded) from its 52 week low of 1862.49 hit Wednesday, October 15, 2014.

- Down 5.24% from 52 weeks ago.

- Off 11.15% from its 2015 closing high of 2130.82 hit Thursday, May 21, 2015.

- Month-to-date it is down 10.01%.

- Year-to-date it is down 165.69 points or 8.05%(rounded).

4:31 pm | Sea of blood | by Erik Holm

Here’s how today’s trading on the S&P 500 looks in heatmap form. It’s a sea of blood, like something out last night’s Fear the Walking Dead premiere. That one bright green spot belongs to AGL Resources, which announced that it was being taken over by Southern Co. before trading began.

AGL was up 28% to $13.55. Only 5 other companies in the S&P 500 ended the day in the green.

4:29 pm | Dow has worst five-day losing streak since 2011 | by Paul Vigna

Here is a run-down of all the pertinent facts you need for today's selloff in the Dow.

A couple of things stand out. The past five trading sessions represent the largest loss, by percentage, since August 2011. By points, it's the largest five-day loss since October 2008. The index is now down 13.3% from its May high, and is down 10.3% this month alone. For the year, it's down 11%.

Here's the tale of the tape:

- The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 588.47 points or 3.58% today to 15871.28

- Largest one day point decline since Monday, August 08, 2011.

- Largest one day percentage decline since Thursday, August 18, 2011.

- Down for five consecutive trading days.

- Down 1673.90 points or 9.54% over the last five trading days·

- Largest five day point decline since Friday, October 10, 2008.

- Largest five day percentage decline since Wednesday, August 10, 2011.

- Longest losing streak since Friday, August 07, 2015 when the market fell for seven straight trading days.

- Off 13.33% from its record close of 18312.39 hit Tuesday, May 19, 2015.

- Up 142.42% from its Bear low of 6547.05 hit Monday, March 09, 2009.

- A new 52 week low.

- Lowest closing value since Monday, February 10, 2014.

- Off 13.33% from its 52 week high of 18312.39 hit Tuesday, May 19, 2015.

- Down 7.06% from 52 weeks ago.

- Off 13.33% from its 2015 closing high of 18312.39 hit Tuesday, May 19, 2015.

- Month-to-date it is down 10.28%.

- Year-to-date it is down 1951.79 points or 10.95%.

4:20 pm | Dow record of a different sort | by Erik Holm

Another superlative: As we mentioned at the outset of today’s trading, this is the first time in history that the Dow has moved by 300 or more points on three successive trading days.

4:20 pm | Dow now down 11% from its 200-day moving average | by Paul Vigna

If stock traders are looking for something to rally around, they can try this: the Dow is 11% below its 200-day moving average.

Why does that matter?

As we pointed out earlier, the Dow has been trading under its 200-day moving average since late July. The last time it spent that much time under the average was in 2011, the last time the index was in correction territory as well.

With Monday's rout in the books, today's 3.6% loss puts the index...11% below its 200-day moving average. That's significant because in 2011 that was as wide as the gap got. It wasn't a V-shaped rebound - the index spent two months bouncing around there. But it never got worse.

Traders should hope for a repeat of that performance.

4:08 pm | How bad was it? | by Kristen Scholer

The S&P 500 closed at a 10-month low, falling 3.9% for its worst session in four years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at an 18-month low, shedding 3.6% for its worst day in four years too. The blue-chip index was down as many as 1089 points at its session low, its largest point drop on record.

4:07 pm | It's 'official': S&P's in correction territory | by Paul Vigna

One thing we can say for sure: the S&P 500 is in correction territory. It lost 3.9% today, 78 points, closing at 1893. That puts it 11% below the May closing high of 2131.

It’s not exactly a hard-and-fast law, but a drop of 10% or more is considered a “correction.” So this drop means the S&P is in correction territory for the first time since 2011.

4:02 pm | Virtu had a good day | by Bradley Hope

Virtu Financial Inc., one of the world’s largest high-frequency trading firms, was on track to have one of its biggest and most profitable days in history Monday amid a tumultuous 24 hours for world markets, according to its chief executive.

“Our firm is made for this kind of market,” said the CEO, Douglas Cifu.

Virtu and other such trading firms, along with exchanges, emerged as early beneficiaries of the heightened volatility and volume caused by investor unease over China’s economy and a growing belief that the U.S. Federal Reserve might not raise interest rates at its meeting next month.

3:58 pm | "Indiscriminate selling" | by Saumya Vaishampayan

What's been most surprising about the recent slump in U.S. stocks has been the "widespread, indiscriminate selling," said Shep Perkins, portfolio manager of Putnam Global Equity Fund.

"When Asia sells off...and U.S. health-care sells off almost as hard, to me, it suggests that there's just widespread de-risking of equity portfolios," he added.

Celgene, for example, tumbled more than 20% at its lows today. The stock remains up 25% over the last 12 months.

Perkins said he hasn't made any major changes to his portfolio during the turmoil, and is now trying to look for companies that have been beaten up but are poised to benefit in this environment, such as those that aren't as levered to Chinese economic growth.

3:56 pm | What’s ahead | by Kristen Scholer

Volatility should be expected in both directions – up and down – in the days and weeks ahead, according to Bespoke Investment Group. The research firm crunched numbers on how the current selloff stacks up to previous ones.

It found that only 17 other times in history, going back to 1928, has the S&P 500 seen three straight sessions of losses of 2% or more. Over the next day, week and month, the index averaged positive returns, says Bespoke. But there was no shortage of extreme moves up or down in the weeks that followed.

3:56 pm | Lockhart headlines | by WSJ Staff

Some headlines from the Fed’s Dennis Lockhart are hitting the tape. *Lockhart: Still Expects ‘Moderate’ Economic Growth*Lockhart: Rates Will Stay Low For A Long Time To Come*Lockhart Still Expects Gradual Pace Of Fed Rate Rises*Lockhart: Doesn’t Comment Directly On Current Market Turmoil*Fed’s Lockhart: Fed Still On Track To Raise Rates This Year

3:52 pm | Here's the S&P 500's top-20 worst list | by Paul Vigna

And, just so you have it handy, here's the list of the top-20 one-day selloffs for the S&P 500, ranked by percentage. The only real difference is that since it's younger, some of the selloffs that made the Dow list, like 1907 and 1899, didn't make this list.

3:51 pm | Concentrated ownership of stocks | by Erik Holm

Amid today's turmoil, our colleague Josh Zumbrun reminds us that stock ownership in the U.S. is increasingly concentrated among higher-income families. One consequence of the stock booms and busts and the recessions in 2001 and 2007-09 is that lower- and middle-income families have become less likely to own stocks.

That means today the losses fall on higher-income families, more so than when the dot-com bubble burst in 2001 or when stocks fell in 2007 and 2008 during the financial crisis.

3:49 pm | It's not that bad | by Paul Vigna

As brutal as these past few sessions have been, none of them rank in even the top-20 worst one-day losses for the Dow, not by percentage basis at least. Even at its low this morning, when it was off by almost 1,100 points, the 6.6% loss that represented still would not have made the list below.

Here's a chart of the 20 worst one-day losses for the Dow, ranked by percentage. One thing that stands out about this group is that most of these selloffs occurred during depressions, panics, and wars. Ten of them came during the Great Depression. Three came during the financial crisis. Two came during World War I. 1907 was a panic year. The single worst loss came in 1987, with a follow-on selloff a week later that also made this list. Offhand I can't even tell you what the economy was like in 1899. I think that was between panics, though.

3:45 pm | Checking in on corporate bonds | by Sarah Krouse

In a topsy-turvy day for markets, corporate bond trading was relatively muted.

“Despite the severe dent to market sentiment this morning, actual trading flows have been very light thus far,” Interactive Data Corp. analysts wrote in a client note Monday. Trading was more active in high yield names relative to investment grade, they added, with a selloff in sectors including media, oil and gas, retail and telecoms.

Some market participants say reduced bond market liquidity is a factor in the muted trading. Wall Street executives have complained that post-crisis bank regulations that make it more difficult for traditional dealers to hold large inventories of bonds dampen their ability to make markets, which means trading conditions are more challenging than they were prior to the crisis.

“You either are or aren’t positioned for these situations,” said Mitch Reznick, co-head of credit at U.K.-based Hermes Investment Management. “The kind of liquidity you need to move the character of the fund in a short time doesn’t exist. For better or for worse you’re in the trade.”

3:37 pm | In the hands of the market | by Cynthia Lin

Before the market tumult witnessed Friday and today, RBC had laid out financial-market guideposts for what it felt would stop the Fed from raising rates in September (which remains the firm's base case). That included a sustained decline in stocks of about 10%, or a widening of investment-grade corporate bond spreads beyond the energy names by another 25 bps or so. For the dollar, RBC felt it would have to strengthen past this year's highs.

"Lo and behold, it seems that perhaps the most important condition--a sharp equity market correction--is indeed being met," firm says today. "The answer to the question of whether or not the Fed goes in September is in the hands of the equity market."

3:36 pm | Dow kisses 700 points down, buyers rush in | by Paul Vigna

Dow was off 699 points, but avoided crossing the 700 mark. Be interesting to see, with about 25 minutes left to go, if they can avoid that level. Dow's now down "only" 615 points, so clearly some buyers came in a 700.

S&P 500 is off 81 points at 1891.

3:32 pm | Forced selling sparked initial selloff | by Corrie Driebusch

As the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 1,000 points six minutes after the market open, traders said some of the initial sell orders were from big investors scrambling for ways to protect themselves against losses outside the U.S.

Investors bracing for continued financial-market turmoil took out bearish bets on U.S. stocks to protect against falling markets in other countries. Trading is often more challenging in emerging markets due to fewer numbers of buyers and sellers so investors turned to the U.S., home to the deepest stock markets in the world.

“It’s not necessarily a reflection of U.S. investors wanting to take money out of U.S. positions,” said Jeffrey Yu, head of single-stock derivatives trading at UBS Group AG. Rather, investors seeking to hedge against sharp declines in their international holdings turned to the S&P 500 and sold the index.

For more on this, see here.

3:32 pm | Selloff 'Made in China' | by Kristen Scholer

Stocks are deteriorating into the close Monday with the S&P 500 down 4.4%. If those losses hold, it would represent the biggest daily percentage drop for the index since Aug. 2011.

The weakness began in China overnight, spilled over into Europe and continues to adversely impact the major U.S. indexes. David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds, says the selloff the past few sessions can be described as "Made in China."

"The Chinese economy is clearly slowing more than is suggested by their still sky-high real GDP growth figures, with auto sales, exports, electricity consumption and construction activity all looking very weak," Mr. Kelly said. "The ramifications of the Chinese weakness are unknown and thus, to investors, scary. From a psychological perspective, it is much easier to jump out and then wait and see on when to jump back in again. In the short run, selloffs are limited by psychology and the week ahead should give us a sense of the extent of the current panic."

3:21 pm | Bob Doll: 'Not the start of a new bear market" | by Paul Vigna

It's not exactly "Buy American. I Am." But Nuveen's Bob Doll took to YouTube on Monday afternoon with a short video (3:35) with his explanation for what's driving the selloff, and what will support the market through this turbulence.

"This is a correction in a bull market," he says, "not the beginning of a bear market."

3:17 pm | The Onion weighs in | by Erik Holm

Even The Onion is weighing in on today’s stock market action. The satirical news site is leading its collection of fake news with an item headlined: “Shoddy Chinese-Made Stock Market Collapses.”

3:12 pm | Heavy-volume days | by Kristen Scholer

If NYSE total volume surpasses five billion shares Monday, it would represent the fourth time this year daily volume has exceeded the five-billion mark. With about 45 minutes left of trade and NYSE volume showing 4.9 billion shares changing hands, it's likely Monday will be another five-billion-plus session.

The heaviest volume day this year came on March 20 when nearly 5.6 billion shares changed hands. June 26 and Aug. 21 (Friday) were the two other days this year that saw volume eclipse five billion shares.

3:09 pm | A new short target for dollar bulls | by Min Zeng

The dollar's divergent performance--falling against major peers but rising against emerging markets--is now the playbook for some investors.

Ray Uy, senior portfolio manager at Invesco, has been refraining from placing big bets on euro-dollar given the uncertain outlook in the near term. Instead, Uy says he has been focused on emerging-market currencies, betting that many have room to fall against the U.S. dollar. His favorite wagers are running against Asian currencies excluding Japan, such as the currencies in South Korea and Taiwan.

He says the EM currency rout reflects "a broad adjustment" of trades in markets that had thrived on the China economic boom story, which means weaker currencies, weaker commodities and a weaker EM growth outlook.

3:05 pm | Selling continues on heavy volume | by Kristen Scholer

Friday we wrote about how the selling came on heavy volume. Monday, with an hour left of trade, NYSE total volume is already at 4.8 billion shares, well above the 2015 daily average of 3.5 billion. While trading volumes can be light during August as traders leave their offices and head to the beaches, NYSE daily trading volume has averaged about 3.7 billion shares this month (Monday excluded), above the norm.

3:02 pm | Higher margins ahead? | by Tatyana Shumsky

Wild swings in futures prices tend to get a swift reaction from the CME Group, the home of U.S. commodity futures trading. The exchange typically responds to a steep pickup in volatility by asking traders to put down a larger deposit against the loans they take out to trade futures contracts. In the past, this has often presaged a steeper selloff in commodities, as traders who couldn't afford the larger deposits slashed their holdings. So, take cover and watch this space.

3:01 pm | Dow down more than 600 points as last hour arrives | by Paul Vigna

With the market stumbling into the last hour of trading, here's where the markets stand:

DJIA down 650 points at 15807. It was down nearly 1,100 points at its low, and only about 100 points at the (still in the red) high.

S&P 500 is down 83 points at 1888. If if closes at this level, it'll be in correction territory.

Nasdaq Composite down 186 points at 4519.

U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield at 2.00%.

WTI crude oil down 5.5% at $38.21.

3:00 pm | GE's big drop | by Ted Mann

One stock that moved a fair bit this morning: General Electric.

In fact, GE fell further today than it had in a generation amid this morning's selloff, before recovering much of what it lost. GE plunged 21.23% at one point in intraday trading, to a low of just $19.37, the company's biggest decline in intraday percentage since Oct. 19, 1987 -- the stock market crash known as Black Monday. That day, GE shares declined by 23.65%, its second biggest after a decline of 43.17% on April 14, 1972, according to FactSet.

The stock has bounced back to a price of $23.54 a share, or a decline of 4.3%.

2:58 pm | Dollar bulls aren't piling in | by Min Zeng

Many bulls still expect the dollar to rise against the euro in the longer term. But for the moment, some are moving to the sidelines.

"The long dollar trade has been very crowded," said Luke Bartholomew, money manager at Aberdeen Asset Management. "With uncertainties growing over the Fed in the near term, there is no surprise to see the dollar sell off against the euro."

Bartholomew said he has been wagering on a stronger dollar against the euro over the past year and has benefited from the rally. But lately he has decided to stay on the sidelines and wait for more clarity as markets are getting more volatile. "You don't want to catch a falling knife at the moment," he said. "The level of volatility is quite scary."

ICE dollar index down 1.5% at 93.599 recently.

2:44 pm | Brad McMillan on Lunch Break | by WSJ Staff

Brad McMillan of Commonwealth Financial joined Paul Vigna on Lunch Break this morning, to talk about the market rout, what's causing it, and what he's telling investors.

2:38 pm | The markets are sending the Fed a message | by Paul Vigna

Look, we get it. What the Federal Reserve chooses to do with interest rates has a material effect on what happens in the capital markets. Even if the Fed's mandate is the domestic economy, what the world's most powerful central bank does effects everything from New York to Milan to Astana to Beijing, and points in between.

There is naturally no one cause of a global rout of this size. It's a mixture of things. But Fed policy is undoubtedly one of the prime movers, and you could be forgiven for making the argument that once again the markets are showing their, ah, displeasure at the prospect of even marginally higher interest rates.

"If there were any doubt only a few days ago, there should be none at all now," James Barrineau at Schroders wrote in a post, "even incrementally more restrictive monetary policy by the Federal Reserve is a danger in a very slow growth world."

To his mind, the market is sending a clear message. Is it one the Fed can't help but to hear? "Probabilities of a September start to a rate hiking cycle are now substantially lower, according to market pricing. We continue to believe even four rate hikes over the coming year would be an heroic outcome. While the Fed looks to normalize rates, markets are saying normal might be going out of the window."

2:21 pm | S&P 500 back near correction territory | by Paul Vigna

S&P 500 now down 50 points, or 2.5%, at 1920, virtually bang on where it would need to close (1918) to signal a correction.

2:20 pm | Worst performers | by Kristen Scholer

As WTI crude oil sits at its lowest level in six-and-a-half years, it may be no surprise that energy stocks make up four of the five worst-performing S&P 500 components. Here they are...

-Citrix Systems Inc. (tech): -8%

-Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (energy): -7.7%

-Newfield Exploration Co. (energy): -7%

-EOG Resources Inc. (energy): -6%

-Marathon Oil Corp. (energy): -6%

2:11 pm | Weakness persists | by Kristen Scholer

The S&P 500 is off its intraday peak and, as it's come down, all 10 sectors are now off worse than 1%. Friday all 10 sectors closed down more than 1% for the first time in over a year. If they all close down more than 1% Monday for a second straight session, that would mark the first time in nearly four years all 10 sectors have booked back-to-back losses of more than 1%.

2:04 pm | RBC Calls Biotech Correction 'Healthy' | by Maureen Farrell

RBC Capital Markets LLC analyst Michael Yee sees the correction in biotech as “healthy” and said it could present some opportunities.

The key biotech index — IBB Biotech Index — is down 20% from its recent highs but is still up 9% for the year. The rally in biotech stocks, he notes, has gone on for seven years, sending the index up more than 500%.

Over the next six to 12 months, there’s a buying opportunity based on where biotech stocks trade today, specifically stocks that are highly profitable and have high free cash flow. Among those, he recommends Amgen Inc., Celgene Corp., Gilead Sciences Inc., and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.

The pullback in these stocks should “shake out weaker hands that have driven some names too fast.”

Biotech stocks, he notes, have minimal exposure to China. “In other words, slowdown in China or raising interest rates shouldn’t materially matter to success or failure of a future Alzheimer’s drug etc.”

2:03 pm | What will it take to reverse the downturn? | by Kristen Scholer

In a note to clients Monday, Nuveen Asset Management’s Bob Doll, a market bull, wrote the correction for stocks may not be over, but he expects the bull market to persist. The two things he says are key to a turnaround: Better corporate earnings and stabilizing commodity prices.

While Mr. Doll says the selloff has wreaked some technical damage on markets that could take time to repair, he says there is a ray of light out there. At 2.3%, the S&P 500 is yielding more than the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield, which is at 2%. “History shows that when equity yields are higher than bond yields, it’s usually a buying opportunity for stocks,” he said.

2:01 pm | Worst streak in years for hedge funds | by Rob Copeland

Brutal showing for stock hedge funds amid the market drop, Morgan Stanley's prime brokerage says in a private note to clients reviewed by WSJ.

Stock hedge funds saw median losses of 1% on both Thursday and Friday--the first time for two days of losses of that magnitude since August 2011. And four years earlier, the losses were over three days, sandwiching a flat showing in between. Stock hedge funds down 2.35% for the month through Friday, Morgan Stanley says.

2:00 pm | Market action makes "little sense" to Goldman | by Chiara Albanese

Given that the drop in oil prices is supply-driven and does not signal a global growth scare and that the renminbi drop was about establishing flexibility ahead of Fed lift-off rather than setting in train a major devaluation cycle, the current market selloff makes “little sense”, says Goldman Sachs analyst Robin Brooks.

“This price action is similar to that during the taper tantrum in 2013 and doesn’t last,” he adds.

Still, emerging markets remain at risk of selloff. “Even if we get a risk-positive message from policy makers towards the end of this week, fundamentals continue to make us cautious with respect to emerging market currencies,” he says.

1:57 pm | The most important number to come out of today's selloff | by Paul Vigna

People are going to debate the significance of this morning’s breathtaking open drop. To some, it was just “noise,” (Brad McMillan, see below). And if the index quickly recoups the losses that argument will be strengthened. We don’t think that what happened this morning was noise, though. What happened this morning may have been a credible attack on the post-recession bull market.

The significance of today’s selloff isn’t necessarily in where the index closes at 4 p.m. Looked at by that narrow lens, the number that matters is 1918; a close below there puts the S&P into correction territory (where it would join the DJIA, Russell 2000 and Dow transports).

No, the really significant number to our mind is this: 1866. That was the low on the S&P 500 this morning. Jot that number down, Mouseketeers, because it looks to our junior chartist eyes like there’s a larger meaning there. Could it be completely random that the market fell that low before rebounding? It could be, but more often than not, these things are not random. Often, these numbers have meaning. Take a look at the chart below.

That’s a chart of the index stretching back to the 2009 lows. If this morning’s low represents the right end of an uptrend line that goes back to 2009, then it’s an extremely important number.

Is it a coincidence that you can draw a straight line from the 2009 lows to Monday’s low? Is it a coincidence that a seemingly uncontrollable tide just stopped right there? At the very least, you can make the argument that 1866 is where the market, speaking in the aggregate of course, is currently willing to come in with a strong inclination to buy, that it sees value at that point.

There’s a larger significance, though: if the index were to close at 1866, it would represent an attack on an uptrend that began all the way in 2009, and has been virtually uninterrupted since then. What happened this morning, in other words, may have been the first credible attack in years on the bull market. We don’t imagine it will be the last.

1:53 pm | Where to from here? | by Kristen Scholer

With the S&P 500 sliding for five straight days, losing 8.2% in that time, market participants are wondering how long the selling will last. And at what point stocks could recover.

Steven Wieting, global chief investment strategist at Citi Private Bank, says markets could stabilize over the coming weeks, but he isn’t anticipating a full recovery to come as swiftly as it did in October when the large-cap S&P index erased a 9.8% tumble in two weeks. These are the reasons he thinks a bounce back could take longer…

1) The Fed prefers to raise rates if it can as the U.S. recovery is further advanced,

2) Immediate uncertainty over the Fed’s rate decision will likely linger for a full month and

3) World markets need to assess the damage significant foreign exchange rate and commodity price adjustments will have on the growth outlook.

The Fed’s next policy meeting is three weeks away. Between now and then it will see reports on second-quarter GDP, July personal consumption and August payrolls. In discerning whether or not to raise rates, it will have to decide if it’s comfortable with “international developments” and the inflation outlook. The jobs market already seems to fit the threshold of demonstrating “some further improvement.”

1:52 pm | Copper, aluminum close at lowest levels since 2009 | by Ese Erheriene

Copper and aluminum futures closed at more-than-six-year lows in London.

The London Metal Exchange’s three-month copper contract was down 2% at $4,953 a metric ton at the PM kerb close, having tumbled to its lowest level since 2009 earlier in trading at $4,855 a ton. It fell below the key $5,000 level for the fifth-straight session. Aluminum, meanwhile, closed down 1.7% at $1,521.50 a ton, after hitting a six-year low during trading at $1,506 a ton.

But commodities across the board were lower, with the S&P GSCI index, a broad measure of the sector, at its lowest since October 1999.

China consumes more than 40% of global base-metals supply, and as a result, metal prices tend to mirror its economic trajectory closely. When it is seen to be in trouble, market participants anticipate demand declines and price falls.

1:49 pm | "We're trying to making money from other people's mistakes" | by Saumya Vaishampayan

Chris Bertelsen, chief investment officer at Global Financial Private Capital, said he added to positions in Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Altria Group and the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF recently, during this selloff. The firm oversees $5.2 billion from Sarasota, Fla.

The steep declines across markets were a catalyst for his decision to buy, as well as the "understanding that we're not going into a recession and the reaction has been panicky and probably from a lot of individual investors," he said.

"We're trying to making money from other people's mistakes," he added.

1:47 pm | Circuit-breaker tally | by Bradley Hope

Trading of U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds was paused more than 1,200 times in early trading on Monday as the market experienced heightened volume and volatility.

NYSE Group, a unit of Intercontinental Exchange Inc., had a combined 1,067 circuit breakers triggered, Nasdaq OMX Group Inc.’s had 165 and BATS Global Markets Inc. had three. The total was 1,235 as of about 11 a.m., according to exchange executives. There are usually pauses in the single digits on a normal trading day.

1:44 pm | Vanguard calls in the army | by Kirsten Grind

Vanguard Group called in its “Swiss Army” Monday as investors besieged the giant money manager with questions about the stock market rout.

Chief Executive and Chairman F. William McNabb III said in an interview that a flood of client inquiries overwhelmed the company’s call center and forced executives to pull volunteers from across different divisions of the company to handle questions.

The volunteer group is known inside the firm as the “Swiss Army” because of its ability to step in quickly during a crisis. All employees ranging from portfolio managers to executives are trained to answer investor calls.

For more on this story, see here.

1:38 pm | Action in the high-yield market | by Sarah Krouse

Amid all the action, institutional investors are busy in the high-yield bond market. For the 100 most active bonds traded through 11:30 a.m., the number of trades completed was split roughly evenly between high-yield and investment-grade bonds. However trading volume and the average trade size in high yield was more than double that of the investment-grade names, according to Interactive Data Corp. This suggests that there is more institutional activity in high-yield names amid a flight to quality, the firm said.

“I think the market is kind of defining itself now, whereas in the morning it was all over the place.” said Mike Cassidy, senior director, fixed income evaluations at Interactive Data.

1:32 pm | White House is paying attention | by Byron Tau

The White House said that the Obama administration was monitoring market volatility in the midst of slowdown fears in China. "The Treasury Department has been closely monitoring global markets," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said during his daily briefing. Earnest said that the global economy was highly interconnected now but touted the "ongoing resilience of the U.S. economy." Earnest cited "longer-term trends" including growth, falling unemployment and job creation, saying Americans could feel confident in the strength of the state of the economy.

1:31 pm | Don't fight the commodity bears | by Nicole Friedman

Commodity prices are unsustainably low, but that doesn't mean it's time to buy, says Jeffrey Sherman of DoubleLine Capital. "There's going to be some bottom feeding at some point, but maybe this isn't the right week," he says. "You just have a lot of negative sentiment out there," due to concerns about Chinese growth. DoubleLine has no position in crude oil right now, Sherman says. He is hesitant to bet on lower prices because a geopolitical situation that threatens oil production could send prices shooting higher immediately.

1:21 pm | Some Fed-watchers are sticking with September | by Cynthia Lin

Market analysts agree that recent market swings complicate the chances for a September rate hike, but many are nevertheless keeping their calls for a fall move. That's because market anxieties can abate as quickly as they arise, they say.

"If the FOMC were meeting this week, uncertainty about global financial market stability would probably be enough to keep the committee on hold for another meeting. It is hard to say whether that will still be true four weeks from now," Wrightson ICAP says.

Capital Economics says if the market turmoil fades as it expects, September is still a "significant possibility."

1:12 pm | Hard hit shares turning positive | by Dan Strumpf

As the Dow recovers from its early 1,000-point loss, a number of hard-hit stocks in the market have been vaulted into positive territory. Apple trades up 2.2% after plummeting as much as 13% on the low. Facebook now trades up 0.1%. Disney gains 0.3%, while Gilead Sciences adds 0.5%. One stock that many traders are pointing to, Ford Motor, plunged as much as 25% on the day’s low and now trades down only 3%.

1:12 pm | When is red the color of victory? | by Paul Vigna

Random thought: if the Dow and S&P 500 finish at 4 p.m. exactly where they are right now, down 125 points and 18 points, respectively, is that victory?

Consider where these indexes were four minutes into trading. The Dow lost 1,000 points last week, and 1,100 in the first four minutes of trading today. It's up nearly 1,000 points from the session low (and how many times have we written a statement like that?)

Knowing Wall Street, they'll take that as a victory.

1:11 pm | Fed Funds futures | by Cynthia Lin

CME FedWatch's analysis of Fed Funds futures prices shows odds that the Fed raises rates in December falling below even today to 49%. That's down from 60% on Friday and 63% a month ago. That leaves the first month where odds are above even at January 2016, currently at 57%. The shift today doesn't come on any discouraging U.S. economic data, but rather the wild ride across financial markets.

1:06 pm | "This latest selloff has created some really nice opportunities" | by Saumya Vaishampayan

Darrell Cronk, president of the Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said the firm held a morning call with advisers to discuss the recent market turmoil. Questions were focused on what triggered the recent selloff, whether this suggests the U.S. economic recovery and bull market have come to an end and, lastly, what actions to take, he said.

"A lot of people are looking for what that ignition switch was" for the latest tumble in stocks, he said. A confluence of global concerns has driven declines in stocks, suggesting the market could be due for a rebound, much like last October. There are "a lot of geopolitical events that have the markets concerned," he said. "I don't want to diminish those [concerns] but those are not necessarily what we're seeing in the economic fundamentals and in the data," he added. That's why he recommends buying U.S. large-cap stocks, especially those in the technology, industrials and consumer cyclical sectors.

"This latest selloff has created some really nice opportunities," he added.

1:01 pm | One Stock Related to the Housing Market Gets Another Booster | by Maureen Farrell

The WSJ pointed out Monday morning that stocks in the housing sector, including home-building companies and related industries, have seen strength recently amid the market turmoil.

Barclays analyst Stephen Kim told investors that another stock in that world is a buy: CaesarStone Sdot-Yam Ltd. The company sells quartz slabs used in kitchen countertops.

Mr. Kim upgraded the stock Monday morning to overweight. "The quartz countertop story in the U.S. is still in the very early stages of a long-term share gain from granite," he wrote in a research note.

CaesarStone's stock was down less than 1% by early afternoon. Shares of the largest home-building companies -- D.R. Horton and PulteGroup Inc. - fell more dramatically and were each down between 2% and 3% by early afternoon.

1:01 pm | Is a 'first-time long-time' call coming from the Fed? | by Paul Vigna

This will-they/won’t-they debate about the Fed is starting to sound like a sports talk-radio show, when the topic of the day is the local team’s starting pitching rotation – in January. Everybody’s got an opinion, everybody’s got reasons for and against, and none of it will really matter until we get to September, until the Fed’s rate-setting committee actually meets.

The most recent take to hit our inbox came from Capital Economics’ Paul Ashworth, and for what it’s worth, it’s a good take, although it’s not one the market will want to hear. The bottom line, he says, is that even with the market turmoil, the U.S. economy isn't collapsing, and since there isn't any "genuine economic slump," one can still make the case for an increase in interest rates - if not in September, later this year regardless.

Here's his take on it:

" There are no signs of any major downturn in the US economy, economic growth in China still appears to slowing rather than collapsing and emerging markets are not about to endure a repeat of the 1997/98 Asian crisis. The current bout of market turmoil, if it continues, might persuade the Fed to hold off on raising interest rates in September. Since that volatility doesn’t reflect any genuine economic slump, however, we wouldn’t be surprised if it proved short-lived leaving the way open for the Fed to begin raising rates at some point this year. Even a September rate hike is still a significant possibility if the turmoil abates over the remainder of this week."

Will the Fed really make a "first time, long time" call? Mr. Ashworth has a significantly more educated opinion on this matters than Sal from Ronkonkoma. Still, until we get to the September meeting, and the Fed either does or doesn't make a move, all we've got is a lot of guesswork.

1:00 pm | 7 important questions and answers | by Kristen Scholer

Amid the market tumult, Citigroup Inc. put together a Q&A dubbed "This Week's most important questions." Here's the bank's take on seven key topics...

1) Global growth. Citi says it's maintaining its 2015 global growth outlook of 2.7%, but cutting its 2016 forecast to 3.1%, saying risks to its view remain to the downside.

2) Chinese currency devaluation. The bank says a weaker currency will reinforce the theme of "lower for longer" monetary policy in the U.S. and other developed countries.

3) Search for yield. "We remain constructive on global equities and retain an overweight in the asset class via [developed market] stocks, evenly split between the US, Europe and Japan," said Citi.

4) Liftoff. Citi keeps its call for a September rate rise, barring any "bunker busters." The bank said the July Fed minutes didn't present a new, more dovish Fed posture.

5) Path for U.S. stocks. "Despite our year-end 2015 and mid-2016 upside targets, underscoring a moderately bullish stance, we are hard pressed to find the imminent catalyst for a rebound near-term," said Citi.

6) Emerging markets. Further outflows are expected from China. Citi says that means emerging markets should continue to suffer from continued volatility in the region.

7) How low can oil go? "2008’s $32.40/bbl low is a conceivable reality," said Citi.

12:45 pm | Barclays now sees first Fed rate hike in March | by Cynthia Lin

Barclays now sees the Fed delivering its first rate hike in March 2016 instead of this September, pointing to the recent deterioration of U.S. financial market conditions and lower oil prices.

A combination of falling global stocks, bonds yields and emerging-market currencies has pushed the firm's measure of financial stress up one full standard deviation above its long-term average.

While Barclays still believes the U.S. economy on its own warrants higher rates, the Fed "is unlikely to begin a hiking cycle in this environment for fear that such a move may further destabilize markets." Delaying the rate hike would give the central bank time to assess the effects of the recent volatility, Barclays says.

12:44 pm | European Round-Up | by Josie Cox

European stock markets have ended the session and here’s the final picture:

The STOXX Europe 600 fell 19.27 points or 5.33% today to 342.01. That’s the largest one-day point decline since October 2008 and largest one-day percentage decline since December of that year.

London’s FTSE 100 Index fell 288.78 points or 4.67% to 5898.87, Germany’s DAX declined 476.09 points or 4.70% today to 9648.43 and France’s CAC lost 247.53 points or 5.35% to 4383.46.

The FTSE has now fallen for ten consecutive sessions. The last time it suffered such a long losing streak was in 2003. According to data provided by trading venue BATS Chi-X Europe, €114.3 billion worth of shares across Europe traded during the day.

12:43 pm | Is this what a market bottom looks like? | by Patrick Sheridan

Jeff Saut, chief investment strategist at Raymond James, says today "is the kind of action you see at market bottoms," and that every technical indicator he watches has an oversold signal.

As an example, Saut points out that the S&P 500 is four-and-a-half standard deviations (a measure which quantifies the amount of variation) below its 50-day moving average. He says the question now is "whether we have a V bottom like back in October, or a throwback rally - where the market's up for a few days - but then retests the lows of the recent past."

Whatever the case, Saut thinks the "secular bull market" is still intact.

12:41 pm | Tech sector turns positive | by Kristen Scholer

After being down as much as 7% earlier in the session, the S&P 500 tech sector has moved into positive territory, now up 0.2%. It's the only one of the 10 sectors in the green. Leading the charge within the sector are...

-Linear Technology Corp.: +2.5%

-Avago Technology Ltd.: +2.5%

-First Solar Inc.: +2.1%

-Texas Instruments Inc.: +2.1%

As we mentioned a few minutes ago, Apple and Facebook have moved into positive territory too.

12:39 pm | "As scary and unsettling as this is, it's noise" | by Saumya Vaishampayan

It appears as if cooler heads are prevailing in the stock market, which has recovered from its steepest losses of the day. The Dow is now down 122 points, or 0.7%, after tumbling more than 1,000 points in morning trade.

"At the end of the day, as scary and unsettling as this is, it's noise," says Brad McMillan, chief investment officer of Commonwealth Financial Network, which oversees $100 billion. That's because he says the U.S. economy is growing "consistently and sustainably" and isn't at threat of being thrown off course by a Chinese slowdown. He says the energy sector is starting to look interesting "simply because there is so much bad news in there."

12:32 pm | FTSE extends losing streak into 10th day | by Josie Cox

Meanwhile, in London, the FTSE 100 ends the session 4.7% lower at 5898. It has now fallen for 10 consecutive sessions -- it's longest losing streak since 2003 -- and is at a level last seen in late 2012.

So far in August, the FTSE 100 has declined 11.9%. It's down more than 10% so far in 2105. Miners, which are particularly sensitive to Chinese markets, led losses throughout the day. Glencore ended the day down 13%. Anglo American fell 9.9%, BHP Billiton 9.2% and Rio Tinto 6.9%. RSA Insurance Group was the day's only gainer, adding 0.8%.

12:32 pm | Several beaten-up trades recover | by Kristen Scholer

Earlier we wrote about how six of this year's darlings -- mostly tech stocks -- were hit hard during the selloff. Four of those six names have rebounded though, climbing into positive territory as the S&P 500 remains in the red, down 1.2%.

Netflix, Apple, Gilead Sciences and Facebook are now in the green, up 4.5%, 2.1%, 0.9% and 0.1%, respectively, on the session. Still, they've shed 13%, 8%, 8.7% and 8.3%, each, during the five-day down streak, worse than the S&P 500's 7.3% loss over the past week.

12:31 pm | Sector snapshot | by Erik Holm

A fresh look at the S&P 500 sectors shows a far different picture than at the open. The S&P energy sector is the biggest decliner, down just over 1.9%. It was earlier down as much as 5.6%.

Financials are down 1.9%, consumer staples are down 1.6% and health care is down 1.5%.

Information technology is currently the best-performing sector. It’s down about half a percent.

12:25 pm | Volatility at highest since the financial crisis | by Kristen Scholer

The CBOE Volatility Index, or Fear Gauge, jolted to its highest level since January 2009 earlier in Monday's session. It's since retreated as stocks have slowly improved during the day. Still, the VIX remains elevated at about a four-year high of 33, and some on Wall Street think volatility could stick around.

"Investors should brace for further volatility," said Mark Haefele, global chief investment officer at UBS Wealth Management. "But we expect this bout of risk aversion to pass, with equities in developed markets resuming their upward trend."

12:23 pm | J.P. Morgan's wild ride | by Aaron Lucchetti

Investors who bought or sold bank shares this morning took a wild ride, especially if they were dealing in shares of the nation's largest bank by assets, J.P. Morgan Chase.

While shares across the six largest U.S. banks are now trading in a relatively tight band -- down between 1% and 3% from Friday's closing prices, this morning was a different story. As stock indexes plummeted sharply, J.P. Morgan shares had fallen 21% at their lows for the day, compared with declines of 8%-12% for the five other large U.S. banks, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

12:20 pm | Closing the Gap Between Commodities, Stocks | by Dan Molinski

Global markets all at once realized "the chasmic gap" between commodities and equities, says ClipperData's Matt Smith in explaining today's rout. And investors "are even more fearful as to where they could reconnect...equity markets and commodity markets alike are getting clobbered."

Smith says hedge funds long positions in WTI crude oil are at a five-year low, while short positions are ramping up. A prime concern on crude oil is official data estimating total global liquids inventories have grown by 2.3M bpd through first seven months of this year, the highest since 1998, he says.

12:11 pm | Apple, other tech darlings hit hard | by Kristen Scholer

This year’s best trades are among the stocks getting beaten up the most.

Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Google Inc., Netflix Inc., Facebook Inc. and Gilead Sciences Inc. These are the stocks we told you about at the end of July that were responsible for driving the bulk of gains in the market this year.

Now, as the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 have plunged 10% and 8.7%, respectively, in the past five sessions, these names are seeing some of the steepest drops.

Apple dipped below $100 a share earlier Monday for the first time since October, shedding as much as 21% in the past week. The stock has recovered throughout Monday’s session, now up 2.2%, after CEO Tim Cook said the company is still going strong in China.

The past five days Netflix, Facebook, Gilead, Amazon, Google are off 20%, 12%, 11%, 11% and 8.8%, respectively. That’s after they were up 157%, 20%, 24%, 72% and 31%, respectively, in 2015 through last Monday’s close.

12:00 pm | Losses have moderated | by Erik Holm

It was a brutal morning for U.S. stocks, but the losses have moderated significantly at noon. The Dow is now off just 215 points. The S&P is down 1.4% to 1943.

11:54 am | 10-year Treasurys are back above 2% | by Cynthia Lin

That didn't take long. The yield on 10-year is back above 2% after swooping as low as 1.903%, according to CQG. The roundtrip took a total of about 4 1/2 hours. Traders are saying there were limits to the buying momentum this morning in Treasurys even amid the swift selloff in stocks since bond-market positions are pretty well-balanced these days. That's unlike earlier this year when the scaled tilted heavily toward bets on falling Treasury prices. A rally forced many then to cover short bets, fueling an even sharper rally and dragging the 10-year yield as low as 1.64% in early February.

11:52 am | by Gregory Zuckerman and Mike Cherney

As global stock markets tumble and analysts fret over the health of key economies such as China and Brazil, bond investors are saying once again, we told you so.

Corporate-bond markets have been showing signs of weakness this summer, even before major stock indexes plunged in recent days. While there are no signs so far that the global stock rout is turning into a broader crisis, some analysts say the bond market often does a better job than the stock market anticipating economic turns and that investors should focus on debt market trends for signs of when stability will return.

“Credit markets led stocks in 2000 and 2008,” said James Bianco, president of Bianco Research LLC. He said credit spreads, reflecting companies’ borrowing costs relative to the government’s, have been widening for a year, and are “showing no signs of stopping.” Mr. Bianco added that “something is not right” in the world.

“The equity market has been catching up with the sloppiness of the junk market,” said Ken Monaghan, head of global high yield at Amundi Smith Breeden, which oversees about $9 billion.

For more on this topic, see here.

11:48 am | Long time coming | by WSJ Staff

Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa and other commodity exporters have seen their currencies tumble to multiyear lows against the U.S. dollar, limiting their central banks’ scope to cut interest rates and revive lagging economies.

The prospect of a yearslong, China-led downshift—and the lack of policy ammunition to combat it—is making these countries a target.

“We were all fully aware emerging markets were vulnerable,” said Malcolm Charles, a portfolio manager at Investec Asset Management in Cape Town, which has $120 billion under management. Now, he said, “I can only see red on my screen. There’s a complete pricing-out of risk assets.”

But, as our colleagues are reporting, this turn of events has been a long time coming.

11:45 am | Heavy action | by Michael Driscoll

So much for taking your Mondays off in August.

In the first 90 minutes of trading, the New York Stock Exchange counted 533 million transactions. That's more than three times the activity in the same period Monday a week ago.

Broadening to look at the entire market across the full day, and at shares traded rather than transactions, last Monday saw 5.4 billion shares change hands. On the busiest day this year, March 20, 9.2 billion shares were traded. Extrapolation is a rough science (actually, it may not even be a science), but that positions today to be easily the busiest session of the year.

11:44 am | What this all means for the Fed | by Cynthia Lin

These are not the type of market conditions the Fed would like to see as it embarks on its first rate hike in nearly a decade. The question is if today's plunge (and subsequent partial bounceback) in stocks is bad enough to damage confidence among economic participants.

Stock-market stability isn't part of the Fed's mandate, but analysts have long pointed out that there's always a point where a selloff gets bad enough to compel the Fed to hold back on tightening.

"Fed cannot raise against this backdrop. No way will they raise rates and flatten the yield curve with this much uncertainty and global anxiety," says Jason Ware, CIO at Albion Financial. He sees no move in September, though he says December remains likely if volatility settles down.

11:43 am | Where are the oil bulls? | by Nicole Friedman

There are still oil bulls out there -- but they're lying low for the time being.

The bullish argument for oil is that even though production has not fallen yet in response to low prices, it will eventually, and that output drop will be rapid and difficult to reverse.

"Remember, the oil business doesn't work at these prices," says Houston investment bank Tudor Pickering Holt. "But that doesn't matter until there's comfort with demand-side issues."

The net bullish position held by money managers in Nymex oil is at a near-five-year low.

WTI recently down 2% at $38.44 a barrel.

11:41 am | Gold down too | by Tatyana Shumsky

When the margin clerks call for cash, some people throw out the baby with the bathwater. Gold prices have given up earlier gains as steep losses in stocks have triggered margin calls on equity positions, and some investors are offloading profitable gold positions to scrounge up the money they owe on stocks.

"There's a lot of blood in the street right now, there's a lot of margin issues and people are covering those by selling gold," said Bob Haberkorn, a senior commodities broker with RJO Futures.

Gold recently down $1.10 at $1158.50.

11:38 am | A Bit of Pyroclastic Perspective | by Leslie Scism

Imperial Capital credit analyst David Havens offered this context on today’s market action in a note to clients:

“On August 24th, 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius erupted and unleashed a pyroclastic flow that incinerated and buried the residents of Herculaneum and Pompeii under tons and tons of ash and molten rock.”

As he noted, “It’s important to keep perspective.”

11:14 am | Dow still looking at 2%+ drop for third straight session | by Paul Vigna

Even though it has come far off that 1,000-point opening drop, the Dow is still deeply in the red, currently off 400 points, or 2.4%, at 16059.

If the index closes down 2% or more, it will be the first time it's lost that much in three consecutive sessions, since Oct. 6-9, 2008. Should the index close down more than 3%, it would be the first time it has lost that much in two straight sessions since Nov. 19-20, 2008.

This adds a better context to our comment earlier about the 300-point losses. The Dow hasn't even lost 300 points for three consecutive sessions. But that is a lower bar to fall under when the index is higher than it ever had been in its history. The percentage levels offer a better basis for comparison.

Either way, the losses the last few days have their parallels in the fall of 2008, and those were some ugly days.

11:12 am | Currency Carnage Rocks Emerging Markets

Currencies were not exempt from the global market rout, as emerging market currencies, especially those linked to economies heavily dependent on commodities, were caught in the market downdraft. Here’s what investors and analysts said about some of the biggest moves.

10:49 am | European Stock Volume Crashes Past Swiss Franc Day | by Giles Turner

Unsurprisingly, European trading volume is pretty frothy. As of 15:46 BMT, stock exchange venues across Europe have traded around €90.91 billion ($105.39 billion), according to data from BATS Chi-X Europe.

But shockingly, this is more than the €90.8 billion was traded on 15th January, when the Swiss Central Bank surprised everyone by scrapping a three-year old peg on the franc.

This was the volume since the U.S. stock exchange opened.

9.30 = €62,090,876,630 traded

9.45 = €69,845,825,894 traded

9.50 = €71,745,853,997 traded

10:41 am | European stocks are having a bad August | by Josie Cox

The Stoxx Europe 600 has fallen close to 13% so far in August, putting it on track for its worst month since October 2008, when it fell by 13.3%. If the index continues to slide in the next few days, then August could end up being the worst month on record since September 2002, when it fell by 14.1%. The Stoxx Europe 600's biggest monthly fall on record, according to FactSet data, was in October 1987, when it fell by 23.8%.

10:38 am | The new normal doesn't appear very normal at all | by Paul Vigna

How do you get back to normal, when everything around you is decidedly not normal?

That's the real question confronting the Federal Reserve, and we wonder if anybody hanging out in the Tetons this weekend will address it quite like that. The Fed's problem is that it's got a five-alarm fire level monetary policy it wants to chuck in favor of something that at least looks like a normal world, even if it's a new normal kind of world. But the world simply will not play along.

The bank will try, said D.A. Davidson strategist Sharon Stark. But the way she sees it, the central bank is probably going to have to stretch out the "normalization" process even longer than most people suspect:

"We do expect the Federal Reserve will stay on message with one interest rate increase this year, but then may wait until this time next year to consider a follow up. The negative impacts of a global economic slowdown coupled with a strong dollar on the pace of job and wage growth and heightened risk of deflation give reason for the Fed to delay a rate increase despite the absence of 'crisis' conditions in the U.S.

"To put it more succinctly, it is hard to support the normalization of U.S. interest rates when global economic and monetary conditions are far from normal."

10:34 am | A Rash of Stocks Hit Their Circuit Breakers | by Dan Strumpf

Amidst the rout in global stocks, an avalanche of individual stocks in the U.S. have hit their circuit breakers, halting trading.

But despite the eye-popping 1,000-point tumble in the Dow Jones Industrial Average shortly after the market open, major stock market indexes still haven’t hit circuit-breaker levels that would trigger a market-wide trading halt.

For now, a rash of individual stocks have hit circuit breakers. Trading in individual issues that move 10% or more in a five-minute period are halted, and can be reopened after five minutes or longer depending on market imbalances, according to Securities and Exchange Commission rules.

Recent halts include the SPDR S&P Dividend Exchange-Traded Fund, down 17% recently.

10:33 am | Emerging markets to watch | by Sarah Krouse

The problem for the markets is not China, but rather other emerging markets that supply China with commodities, according to Deutsche Bank’s head of U.S. credit strategy.

“When commodity prices go down, it is a direct benefit to China and a direct loss to anyone who produces that commodity.” said Oleg Melentyev. “I think where the market missed the big story is that the rest of the emerging market world is in pretty poor shape right now and this is what’s now starting to find its way into the U.S. market.”

He said the ability of emerging market corporates to maintain their foreign currency-denominated debt is one important factor to watch. Emerging market countries to watch this week that are large in terms of GDP and have more than 50% of corporate debt outstanding in foreign currencies are Turkey, Chile, Mexico, Brazil and Russia.

Mr. Melentyev wrote in a research note Friday that 17.2% of U.S. high yield bond issuers were trading at distressed levels versus 21.4% of emerging market high yield issuers. That level should be far higher for emerging market issuers, he added, suggesting that there is more pain ahead.

10:31 am | VIX surges after delayed opening | by Saumya Vaishampayan

The VIX opened late Monday amid the market turmoil. The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, is calculated from prices of S&P 500 options. Quoting in those S&P 500 options was “sporadic” in early trade, says Suzanne Cosgrove of CBOE, causing issues with the VIX.

“It’s just a market condition issue,” she added.

The first quote of the VIX happened just before 10 a.m. New York time, according to FactSet, and the fear gauge has been swinging around since. The VIX briefly pushed above 50, and recently was up 38% to 38.80.

10:29 am | Markets in full 'adult swim' mode, says Morgan Stanley | by Rob Copeland

Morgan Stanley’s Nick Savone has a name for the market turmoil: “Adult swim.” In a client note reviewed by WSJ, Savone blames the quick drop this morning in part on hedge funds and other big buyers (i.e. “13F holders”) going from 30% of market volume ten years ago to 60% today. Liquidity has suffered as a result.

10:29 am | Not in Kansas | by Paul Vigna

Michael Oliver isn't the best-known analyst on the Street, but from his one-man shop, Momentum Structural Analysis, he's been banging the drum about a market top all year. With the S&P now finally tumbling into its first correction in four years, what does he think?

"Be assured that this decline, regardless of its dance steps, is likely in the longer term to be major. Whether it is a segmented beast with several counter‐trend rallies or whether it goes to ground zero efficiently in a lightening bolt? I tend toward the former ‐ of the segmented process ‐ but am enough of a chaos theorist and momentum analyst to be open to the latter.

"Beware! These are no longer normal times. Take your normal operational templates designed to function in 'normal' market times, and take your algorithms and nicely plotted scenarios and sideline them. Be a guerrilla i in an uncertain terrain. Limited ammo, enemies all around ‐ don’t be cocky and so sure of your prior capabilities. Because that’s where you are. You are not in Kansas any more!"

Maybe that sounds a bit too far out to you. Maybe you're looking at the Dow coming back, now down "only" 300 points, and thinking, ah, it was all just a dream. Just consider, though, that we've yet to confront what happens when the Fed tries to unwind the $3 trillion-plus worth of stimulus it created over the past seven years.

At the very least, these are indeed no longer normal times. We are indeed not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

10:21 am | 'Challenging times' but value pockets are emerging | by Josie Cox

"Last week was a collective recognition by investors that all is not right with the world," says Peter Toogood, investment director at asset manager City Financial. "Another bout of hurried easing by central banks and particularly the Chinese seems likely, providing some relief for investors but not getting to the root cause of the problem," he adds. He says that "times are set to remain challenging but pockets of value are slowly emerging" in the energy sector and in some emerging markets like Mexico and Indonesia.

10:20 am | Soybeans are down too | by Jesse Newman

You know what else is falling? Soybeans.

Soybeans hit their lowest level since March 2009 today amid heightened fears over turmoil in the Chinese economy. China is the world's largest buyer of U.S. soybeans, and the selloff in that nation's stock market today is fueling worries that buyers there would curb soybean purchases just as U.S. farmers are preparing to harvest their crops.

"Everywhere you look, markets have the blues," says grain-markets analyst Daniel Hueber, adding that "beans have certainly taken the brunt of the pressure in the overnight trade and into this morning."

Soybeans for September futures recently drop 2.7% to $8.81 1/2 a bushel, after earlier falling to $8.74 a bushel.

10:14 am | Is it so crazy to think green? | by Paul Vigna

Dow now down 443 points, and let me be the first to say it: this thing could go green. Why not? These moves are absolutely parabolic. It may still close in the red, but I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see some green somewhere today.

S&P 500 off 59 points, at 1911.

10:10 am | Summers against a September hike (and not the mountainous kind) | by Paul Vigna

Another vote for a no-go in September. Lawrence Summers, former Treasury Secretary, just added his two bits on Twitter:

It is far from clear that the next Fed move will be a tightening.

— Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) August 24, 2015

Can't imagine there are too many traders that would argue with him on that.

Mr. Summers, who is in the secular stagnation camp, wrote a piece in the Washington Post on Sunday that argued against raising interest rates in September. "There may well have been a financial-stability case for raising rates 6 months or 9 months ago," he wrote. " That debate is now moot."

10:09 am | Bullish on BAC | by Patrick Sheridan

KBW says it "doesn't know how long the carnage will last," but it upgrades Bank of America to outperform. It thinks "anything that rids the sector of momentum investors who have been buying stocks simply on the 'rates are rising' scenario could be a good thing for value investors."

KBW maintains its price target at $20 adding that the downturn better aligns valuations with actual fundamental performance. Bank of America is off 3.3% at $15.61, paring earlier losses.

10:07 am | Apple Shares Tumble But FBR Is Still Upbeat | by Josie Cox

“With panic running wild about China [during] the last few weeks [and] this morning, many on the Street are now worried that Apple's growth story is in the rear-view mirror and dark days are ahead,” FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives writes in a note to clients early Monday.

Mr. Ives is not convinced, however. “We maintain our Outperform rating,” he writes, adding that the company is about to enter its next growth phase thanks to the iPhone 6/6s and “a host of new product categories.” Apple shares are currently trading 5.4% lower, taking losses this month to over 17%.

10:04 am | U.S. stocks just catching up to the rest of the world | by Paul Vigna

This opening moving for U.S. stocks, brutal as it's been, is really just the local market catching up to what's been going on for hours elsewhere. Dow settling into a range, a deeply red range but a range nonetheless, of being off somewhere between 500-600 points. S&P 500's down 67 points.

But look over at bonds. The yield on the U.S. 10-year is 1.98%. Still under 2%, and actually moving up a bit since the market open. That says to me that equities are still trying to price in the moves that have already been priced in elsewhere.

10:01 am | The Cashin-intraday note counter is on | by Paul Vigna

It's on. We've got our first intraday note from Art Cashin. Mr. Cashin, who runs the NYSE floor operations for USB and has been on the floor since before the Cuban Missile Crisis, sends out a couple of notes during the trading day to a small group of traders and reporters. One or two, or even three, is normal, with the first coming around noon.

That Mr. Cashin's first note landed in our inbox at 9:42 a.m., New York time tells us this is serious business here today. The content of the note reiterated the point (see below) he made in his more formal morning commentary:

"I pointed out a week or so ago that mutual funds had the smallest percent of cash on hand in history. In a multi-day selloff, you tend to have redemptions – but with no cash on hand you have to sell stocks to meet these redemptions. That's what I think we're seeing here."

So, the Cashin intraday note-counter has been swtiched into the "On" position. It's a better tell than the VIX.

10:01 am | Market snap after 30 minutes | by Erik Holm

Thirty minutes into official U.S. trading, and things have calmed down just a bit. But to say that the Dow being down 654 is “calmer” indicates just how bloody the open was.

Right now, the S&P 500 is off 80 points, or just over 4%. The Dow is off 654, or 4%. The Nasdaq is down 4.4%.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell as low as 1.9, but it’s back up to 1.98. The U.S. oil benchmark is off more than 5%.

9:55 am | IPO withdrawn | by Lisa Beilfuss

Genomics-reseach tool maker RainDance Technologies Inc. on Monday withdrew its initial public offering, citing market conditions.

The Massachusetts company is the latest to withdraw IPO plans this month, amid the market turmoil. Others to recently drop plans to go public on U.S. exchanges include financial-software firm SunGard, ship company Poseidon Containers Holdings Corp. and oil and gas firm Expro Oilfield Services PLC.

RainDance said it may pursue a subsequent private offering.

9:49 am | And the euro is… Up! | by Chiara Albanese

There is one currency unfazed by a global markets selloff that has send European markets falling by more than 7%: the euro.

The single currency is up 2.65% against the dollar as U.S. markets open, at 1.169. The bounce in the currency comes as investors, which bought the dollar against the euro massively in the past months, reduce their exposure to currency risk.

9:48 am | Nine Dow components down at least 4% | by Erik Holm

All 30 of the stocks in the Dow industrials are down, with the least of them being Microsoft, down 2.5%. Biggest decliners right now are duPont, Travelers, Coke and Wal-Mart--but with this heavy trading, the list is a moving target. Nine Dow components down at least 4%.

9:48 am | Major indexes lower than 12 months ago | by Paul Vigna

The four major indexes are all now down from 12 months ago. The DJIA is off 6.8%, the S&P 500 is off 4.4%, the Nasdaq Composite is down 0.4%, and the Russell 2000 is down 3.9%.

9:45 am | A 'flash crash' kind of opening | by Paul Vigna

A lot of people this morning are talking about liquidity, and I have to say, this open is reminding me a lot of the 2010 flash crash, when liquidity disappeared and the indexes crashed.

In the first four minutes of trading, just now, the Dow was down more than 1,000 points. The index was moving 30, 40, and even 50 points at every tick. Just as quickly, it is regaining ground. The index is, at 9:43 a.m., now down only 580 points.

That really resembles the flash crash, when the index fell like a stone, and came back just as quickly. The only difference is, I'd say this morning's moves have come even faster than the moves in 2010, if memory serves correctly

9:41 am | Nine S&P 500 sectors down at least 4% | by Erik Holm

The worst performing sector in the S&P 500 is consumer staples, down 5.3%. But every sector except utilities is down at least 4.4%.

9:41 am | Another IPO Bites the Dust: Alibaba | by Maureen Farrell

As tech stocks and all stocks crater Monday morning, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is the latest company to see its stock fall below its IPO price.

Alibaba's stock closed 18 cents above its $68 IPO price on Friday. On Monday, it fell as low as $58 -- about 14% below its IPO price.

Last week Twitter briefly dipped below its $26 IPO price, and Monday it slid much further in the red. Twitter's stock fell as low as $21.01, 19% below its IPO price.

9:41 am | Dow looking at first three-day 300-point losing streak | by Paul Vigna

If the Dow closes down 300 points or more today, and it appears right now that it will, it would mark the first time in the index's history that is has ever lost 300 points or more for three consecutive sessions, according to data from our stats group.

There has been only three times when the index fell by that much for two consecutive sessions - before last week - and they all in 2008: Oct. 6-7, Nov. 5-6, and Nov. 19-20.

Now, the one caveat here is that a 300-point move means less now than it did then, because the index is at a higher level now than it was then. Still, it's a notable development, and any comparison to 2008 is automatically portentous.

9:39 am | by Erik Holm

It’s a moving target, but roughly 6 stocks in the S&P 500 are down more than 10%. Biggest decliner is Baxalta, down 13%.

Only four S&P 500 stocks are up.

9:38 am | European Stocks Slammed Again After U.S. Open | by Josie Cox

Shortly after the U.S. stock market open, European stocks suffered a fresh and severe tumble. The Stoxx Europe 600 is down 7.5%. Germany’s DAX is off 6.7%, London’s FTSE 100 off 6.3% and France’s CAC down 8%. The S&P 500 is around 5% lower shortly after the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 6%.

9:37 am | Correction territory | by Erik Holm

It seems quaint to point out that the S&P 500 has now entered correction territory. The level was 1918. We fell straight through that at the open and are now at 1873, down almost 5%.

9:34 am | Dow drops 1,000 points at open | by Paul Vigna

As expected, a violent open for U.S. equities trading. The S&P 500 is down 90 points at 1879 (correction territory), and the DJIA's off 1048 points at 15412. The Nasdaq Composite is down 378 points at 4332.

1,000 points. The numbers are moving extremely fast. Dow's jumping 20-30 points at every tick.

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note is down to 1.94%. The Germany 10-year is at 0.53%. WTI crude is down 4.4% at $38.67. Gold is up only 0.3% at $1,163, and it's one of the only assets to flash any green at all.

9:34 am | Dow is down 1000 | by Erik Holm

Dow is down 1000 points just after the open.

9:29 am | Market trading in a new, lower, channel | by Paul Vigna

Another vote against this being a fast selloff. While Oppenheimer isn't going into the bear-market camp, it does think that the market is in for several rough weeks.

"While we believe low commodity prices and easy Fed policy decrease the risk of a steep and prolonged decline (i.e., a bear market), we expect most major market averages to require several weeks to stabilize after falling below key support levels. Seasonal trends remain a headwind into October too. We're therefore monitoring for a base at 1970 support, but without it, are open to the possibility of additional downside to 1900 support. On the upside, we see 2040 as the start of resistance until a stronger base develops."

Given what we're seeing this morning, we'd put just a little more weight on 1900 than 1970, but what's really interesting to us is this: That 2040 level that the firm mentions are the resistance point was previously the support level for a trading pattern that had held since February. The market was always going to break one way or the other, and now we see that it broke - pretty definitively - lower.

9:28 am | NYSE invokes Rule 48 | by Saumya Vaishampayan

The New York Stock Exchange and NYSE MKT cash equities markets have invoked Rule 48 for Monday morning’s stock market open in anticipation of very volatile trading amid a global market slump.

Invoking Rule 48 means designated market makers don’t have to disseminate price indications before the opening bell in an effort to make it easier and faster to open stocks.

It is intended to be invoked only when the potential for extreme market volatility could have a floor-wide impact, according to NYSE.

9:27 am | *Dow Futures Fall 5.2%, Trigger Circuit Breaker | by Corrie Driebusch

*Dow Futures Fall 5.2%, Trigger Circuit Breaker

9:22 am | Will anyone buy this dip? | by Stephen Grocer

Will the investors buy this dip?

That’s the question facing the market this week. Since the market low in 2011, traders have largely viewed pullback in the markets as buying opportunities. This was especially true this year, as MoneyBeat pointed out Friday. For the past six months, the S&P 500 had been moving in a see-saw pattern, pulling back only about 3% before traders stepped in and pushed stocks back to near highs.

As investors try and decide whether U.S. stocks have become oversold, MoneyBeat decided to compile some interesting stats.

-- Even before this open, the Dow is not only down 8% for the year and 10.1% from its high struck in May it has also given up all its gains for 2014.

-- MND Partners’s Tim Anderson points out that just 13 points separate the S&P 500’s 50-day moving average and its 200-day moving average. So a “Death Cross” for the S&P 500 seems inevitable. The Dow saw a Death Cross roughly two weeks ago.

-- Mr. Anderson points out that that four horsemen of this tech cycle, Amazon, Google Facebook and Netflix all saw, weekly declines for the first time this year.

-- Friday there were 627 companies on the NYSE that hit fresh 52-week lows, while there were zero 52-week highs. Thursday 360 companies hit new 52-week lows. “As a point of comparison, at the end of the 3 week sell off in October ‘14 we had 2 consecutive days with 600 new 52 week lows,” Mr Anderson writes. “Should markets start the day as weak as is currently projected, we’ll be watching the list of new 52 week lows very closely. A third straight day of extreme new lows could set the stage for a sharp trading rally and possibly a Turnaround Tuesday. Keep in mind, my read at this point is that any bounce would be a trading rally, not a sustainable reversal, as the technical damage done at higher levels needs a lot more than just a few days to repair."

-- At least 90% of the S&P 500 constituents are at or below their 100- & 200-Day Moving Average implying ‘Oversold’ conditions and exceptionally negative sentiment, according to a Wells Fargo trading analyst note reviewed by the MoneyBeat.

9:21 am | A word about redemptions | by Paul Vigna

Interesting tidbit from UBS' Art Cashin in his morning note:

"About a week or so ago, I noted that mutual fund cash on hand was the lowest in history and cautioned that could be a problem in any market selloff since funds would then have to sell stocks to meet redemptions. That could be what we are seeing. And, how about all those corporate buybacks last week. Timing, timing, timing.

"Markets will be very oversold on an opening plunge. There is a good chance that today could see an intraday reversal but that depends on the fund redemption problem noted above. Hopefully, margin selling and redemption selling will exhaust by early afternoon. Best to stick with the drill – stay wary, alert and very, very nimble."

9:18 am | It's been a while | by Paul Vigna

I have to just sit back and take a breath. We have not seen a day like this in quite a while.

9:16 am | S&P futures down 100 points | by Paul Vigna

S&P futures are down 100 points. Dow futures are down 850 points.

Oof da.

9:15 am | Dollar falls to 117 against the yen | by Erik Holm

In the last few minutes, the dollar has fallen off a cliff against the yen. It’s was above 120 at 8:30 a.m. New York time and above 119 at 9 a.m., but went into a steep dive at 9:10 to hit 117. The dollar is now down 4% to 117.177. It hasn't been that low since February.

9:15 am | Get ready for another rough scrum | by Paul Vigna

If you're looking for some parallels here, don't look so much at the October selloff, which had a nice, comforting V-shape to it, Instinet's Frank Cappelleri wrote in a note this morning. Look instead to 2011.

"While history never repeats, I think recalling the violent movement of 2011 gives us a clue what can happen if the same kind of V- bottom doesn't materialize now," he wrote. For one thing, Friday's losses were the worst since 2011. It was also the seventh time since 2011 that the S&P has fallen by at least 3% in a single session. The other six were all in 2011.

If that's a harbinger, get ready for a rough ride. 2011 was an extremely volatile year in the market, with a lot of the volatility coming after the index had already dropped 15%, he pointed out.

"While the SPX didn’t fall that much more on a net basis, it didn’t log its low for nearly two more months. Various retests of the August lows were needed before a bottom was in," he wrote. "Most revealing (in my opinion), is that from 8/10/11 to 12/05/11, the market experienced six rallies and five pullbacks of at least 7% each before the market finally emerged from its autumn scrum. This included a +20% advance that was preceded and succeeded by 10% corrections (9/27 – 11/28)."

That's volatile.

9:11 am | Merrill holds special call for advisers | by Corrie Driebusch

Merrill Lynch advisers will have a chance to hear more information and ask questions from senior investment leadership later today, including chief investment officers and the head of macro and economic policy. The firm is holding a call open to the 14,000-plus advisers at noon. Calls on Bank of America's wealth management division happen fairly regularly, but this is a special one to discuss "recent market events," according to a spokeswoman.

9:11 am | Calm Down, Says J.P. Morgan | by Josie Cox

“We think that this is too bearish,” say strategists at J.P. Morgan. “We are in the midst of a full blown growth scare.”

Instead, they believe the selloff may be overdone, especially in European equities. They write that the market is no longer pricing in the ECB’s QE program, PMIs are moving higher, and the euro is increasingly competitive.

9:07 am | Every Dow component is down in pre-market trading | by Erik Holm

Meanwhile, on the Dow, every single component is down in pre-market trading. Visa leads decliners, off 8%. It's followed by Chevron, off 7.3%, and Exxon, off 5.7%.

Apple Inc. is the most active by far. It's down 5.3%, flirting with the $100 mark.

Every stock in the index is down at least 2.4%.

8:59 am | Dow futures down 662. | by Erik Holm

Thirty minutes until U.S. markets open. Dow futures down 662. S&P futures down 77. Nasdaq futures down 209.

8:57 am | Sea of red pre-market | by Erik Holm

The pre-market action for individual S&P 500 names is offering up a sea of red. Among the biggest decliners: Netflix, down 11%; SunTrust Banks, down 10%; PayPal, down 9.3%; Baker Hughes, down 8.9%.

Currently only five S&P 500 companies are up.

8:49 am | If you want to know what the Fed thinks... | by Paul Vigna

If the market is looking for guidance from the Federal Reserve, and you know it is, traders are going to have to really pay attention, because the cupboard's kind of bare here until late in the week.

Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart is on the docket to speak this afternoon, starting at a market-unfriendly 3:55 p.m. New York time, at a "public pension funding forum."

The Richmond Fed comes out with its monthly business survey on Tuesday. The Kansas City Fed's comes out on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the New York Fed has a press briefing on the regional economy. But you can imagine they'll get questions about the global economy.

The real fun starts Thursday, of course, when the Kansas City Fed cranks up its annual Jackson Hole symposium. Fed Chair Janet Yellen is not slated to speak, which right off the bat most likely means that nothing material is going to be announced. The vice chairman, Stanley Fischer, delivers his keynote on Saturday.

That's it for the calender, Mouseketeers. Doesn't mean an errant comment or two won't hit the Tape, though.

8:42 am | Nasdaq ciruit breaker triggers | by Saumya Vaishampayan

E-mini Nasdaq 100 futures triggered a circuit breaker twice during premarket trade at 3992.25, when those futures fell 5%, says John Brady, managing director at futures brokerage R.J. O'Brien. Trading has been “extraordinarily heavy,” he adds.

8:37 am | A sign of decent growth in the U.S. | by Paul Vigna

If you're looking for any bone to get thrown your way this morning, take a look at the Chicago Fed's National Activity Index, which came out at 8:30 a.m.

The July index rose to 0.34 from -0.07 in June. Readings of zero indicate growth at its historical trend. The three-month moving average, considered a more reliable indicator, to to zero from -0.08. So in July, growth was right at its historical trend.

Those aren't hugely bullish numbers, but they at least show that the U.S. economy wasn't skidding off the rails in July.

8:36 am | Treasurys at their lowest intraday level since April | by Min Zeng

The yield on the 10-year is back below 2% again. Continued flight from stocks sent the 10-year yield to fresh session low just before 8 a.m. New York time, touching 1.957%, the lowest intraday level since late April.

Yields on short-term Treasury bonds are also tumbling, a sign investors are betting the Fed is likely stand pat for longer. The yield on the 10-year note was recently at 1.981% vs 2.052% Friday. The yield on the two-year note was 0.58% vs 0.629% Friday.

8:22 am | Close to limit-down, but not that close | by Paul Vigna

S&P futures are careening, now down nearly 4%. But unless the drop goes parabolic in the next ten minutes, they won’t hit the overnight limit-down level on the CME, which is 5%. After 8:30 New York time, the limit down levels change to 7%, 13%, and 20%. That’s for the futures market, mind you, but they’re designed to be consistent with the circuit breakers on the NYSE.

8:18 am | Another QE-less selloff | by Paul Vigna

This is already the worst correction in about four years for U.S. stocks. But there haven’t been too many deep ones since the recession’s end in 2009, and one reason for that is because of the Fed’s “QE” bond-buying programs.

Look at this chart that market technician Ryan Detrick put together. It illustrates every correction since March 2009. Assuming today’s losses take the S&P 500 to a 10% loss – and that’s being a bit generous seeing what’s going on now – this current selloff would rank at the third worst since the recession lows. In July 2010, the index fell 16%, and in October 2011, it fell 19.39%.

Here’s EVERY correction since 2009. All on one chart. Save this now. By @RyanDetrick: http://t.co/vRDA26ze0S $SPY pic.twitter.com/VnwuBZltX8

— StockTwits (@StockTwits) August 23, 2015

What’s interesting about those two other deep selloffs is that both occurred, drum roll please, outside of those QE programs. The 2010 selloff came a few months after QE1 shut down (March 31), and in August of that year, Ben Bernanke dropped his first hints about QE2. The second selloff occurred a few months after QE2 shut down (June 30). In September of that year, while the market was dropping, the Fed announced “Operation Twist.”

8:12 am | But German Economics Ministry is Shrugging Off China's Slump | by Andrea Thomas

The German index may be entering bear territory, but officials are upbeat. The impact on Germany from the Chinese stock market slump won’t be big as only 6.6% of the European nation’s exports go to China, an economics ministry spokeswoman says, stressing that the main growth dynamic for the German economy comes from Europe.

“The direct impact on the German economy should be small,” says the spokeswoman. Overall, Germany’s economy is in robust health, she added.

8:09 am | German Index Turns Into a Bear | by Tommy Stubbington

Germany’s DAX index is now down more than 20% from its all-time high in April, meaning it has entered what’s widely known as a bear market.

The index has been having a tougher time than most during the China-inspired market rout, a far cry from its storming start to 2015.

It contains many exporters—particularly car firms like Daimler AG and BMW AG—that make a big chunk of their revenue in the world’s second-largest economy. And more broadly, it’s tilted toward so-called cyclical stocks that tend to suffer on fears about a global economic slowdown.

8:05 am | Futures turn even lower | by Erik Holm

With more than an hour left before U.S. markets open, stock futures are really heading downhill. Dow futures are now down 664. S&P futures are down 75. Nasdaq futures are down 208.

8:03 am | Decoupling and recorrelating | by Paul Vigna

The only place on my screen flashing any shade of green is the U.S. dollar, which is up 1% against the euro.

Interesting perspective from Societe Generale forex strategist Kit Juckes. You're going to hear a lot of musings about whether the U.S. economy will have any kind of immunity from this global cold. But if the last two decades have shown us anything, and they've shown us a lot, it is that the global economy and capital markets are intractably connected.

"The divergence between global commodity prices and equities is not a new theme but the danger now is that they begin to re-correlate - as they did when the dot-com bubble burst in 2000 and what had previously been an emerging market crisis became a U.S. recession. The alternative view of course, is that U.S. growth is sufficient that demand for raw materials and reductions in commodity supply will between them be sufficient to stabilise commodity prices, but in the near term, we have the Chinese slowdown leading to a commodity overshoot leading to broadening asset market weakness and deepening risk aversion."

7:59 am | European Winners (Sort of) and Losers | by Matthew Curtin

Export champion, commodities giant, or debt-laden? Investors have shown little mercy to shares in these sorts of European blue-chip stocks in Monday’s share-market rout.

Steel-maker ArcelorMittal, mining groups Glencore, Anglo American, and BHP Billiton, and relatively highly-geared German utility RWE AG and Dutch insurer Aegon have borne the brunt of the selling pressure. Among exporters, plane maker Airbus and cognac and scotch supplier Pernod Ricard fell more deeply out of favor.

Still, there are bargain hunters out there, favoring stocks exposed at least to a range of developed and emerging markets or simply with sales heavily weighted to Europe. Nordic engineering groups Kone, best known for its elevators, and Sandvik, an industrial-equipment supplier, were only narrowly in the red.

Sporting declines of less than 2% were consumer goods groups Diageo and Reckitt Benckiser, drug-maker AstraZeneca, newly merged cement group LafargeHolcim, and diversified luxury-goods group LVMH.

7:56 am | Wells Fargo sticking to year-end S&P call | by Paul Vigna

Good morning from New York. Panic? Did you say panic? Not over at Wells Fargo.

“We continue to carry our 2150-2250 S&P 500 Index target range for 2015, and we believe stocks will hit new record highs during 2016,” was the conclusion of a note from Wells Fargo Investment Institute, co-authored by Stuart Freeman, Sean Lynch, and Scott Wren. “We recommend investors consider using market pullbacks as opportunities to accumulate quality shares whose underlying companies should benefit from continuing cyclical domestic growth during the back portion of this economic recovery.”

It would take a 9.1% rally from Friday’s close to hit the bottom of their range. Assuming the S&P 500 sinks to the level that the futures market is currently pointing – lets call it 1913 – it would take a 12% rally. To hit the bottom of the range. To get from the current S&P futures level - which, hmm, look at that, now it's at 1907 - to the top of Wells' range, would take an 18% rally.

That note landed in our inbox at 12:18 a.m. New York time. Wonder if anything that's happened in the past eight hours has changed their minds. Now, is a rally impossible? Of course not. But to not back off your call an ounce, in the face of a global meltdown, is courageous. Or foolhardy. Guess we’ll know by Dec. 31.

7:41 am | Daimler China Chief says Stock Slump hurts Consumer Confidence | by Carlos Tejada

Daimler AG China chief Hubertus Troska says China's stock market slump could hurt consumer confidence if it continues. "In general a buoyant stock market instills confidence. You feel rich and you're more likely to spend," he says. Still, he cites China's continued urbanization and young spenders as continuing benefits. "There is another effect that is positive," he adds.

7:33 am | Halfway Through the European Trading Session… | by Josie Cox

We’re around halfway through the European equity trading session. As of noon in London, the FTSE 100 is 2.7% lower at 6,017, Germany’s DAX is 2.8% off at 9,844 and France’s CAC is down 3% at 4,490. Futures contracts show the S&P 500 opening down 2.2%, or 44 points lower, at 1,927.

Brian Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management LLC, says that “investors need to decide whether the recent moves are a sickness unto death, or just a bad hangover.”

7:21 am | Deeper and Deeper go Mining Stocks

Mining stocks are taking a battering. China buys the majority of iron ore traded by sea, and over a third of the world’s copper. Fears about the health of the country’s economy has had a sharp knock-on effect. South32 Ltd, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, Anglo American PLC and Glencore PLC are all down in Monday trading. Read more about the plight of the sector.

7:09 am | Holes in the Floor for Chinese Stocks - Aberdeen | by Gregor Stuart Hunter

Though the bottom of the Chinese market was likely close, there were still reasons to believe the drop could continue, said Nicholas Yeo, head of equities for China and Hong Kong at Aberdeen Asset Management.

With a number of Chinese companies still trading with a price-to-earnings ratio of around 20, further declines remained a possibility, Yeo said. "Maybe the last shoe is yet to drop," he said. "People are still clinging on to something. Maybe this is not the worst yet."

6:56 am | Hunting For Diamonds in the Rough - Part II | by Chao Deng

Are any investors brave enough to go bargain hunting in China right now?

The Shanghai stock market’s trading link with Hong Kong suggest there is some buying, albeit not much.

Global investors were buying Shanghai stocks on net today as the Shanghai Composite Index fell 8.5%. And month to date, they’ve bought a net 6.5 billion yuan of Shanghai shares. That’s still low compared to previous months, but represents a turnaround from a net 27 billion yuan of out flows in July. Shanghai stocks are down 12% month to date.

This trading link, which began last November, allows global investment of as much as 300 billion yuan per year. It’s a small real-time glimpse into the sentiment of smaller investors toward China’s mainland stock market.

Most of the big investors—pension funds, mutual funds, etc.—invest in China via a bigger program that’s quota-based.

6:31 am | PBoC Is 'Learning a Lesson,' Says IG | by Josie Cox

“Regardless of what the Chinese government and PBoC might be saying and doing, they are currently learning a lesson that many have learned before them, namely you can only fight against market forces for so long before you end up losing,” Alastair McCaig, market analyst at trading services provider IG writes in a note to clients. He also reminds clients, however, that according to the adage, “it’s always darkest before the dawn.”

6:30 am | China's Sell-Off to hit GDP - UBS | by Dominique Fong

China’s weak stock market, which surged 54% to a June high but erased those gains in Monday’s sell-off, will likely shave half a percentage point from gross domestic product growth in the second half of the year, says Tao Wang, head of China economic research for UBS. “The government will do whatever it takes to stabilize growth at 6.5-7%,” she writes in response to investors’ concerns about China’s slowing economy.

5:34 am | Chances of Fed Hike Fading - Newton | by Josie Cox

“What’s happening in China is undoubtedly sending shivers down the spine of the world economy,” says Paul Markham, global equities portfolio manager at Newton, part of Bank of New York Mellon.

“The big focus now will be on what this means for the Fed and the likelihood of its raising rates in September. I think the chances of a September hike are evaporating very quickly,” he says. He says in the longer term, the selloff in equities will create some opportunities, for example, in U.S. technology stocks.

5:28 am | Some Hunting For Diamonds in the Rough | by Christopher Whittall

Ken Wong, a fund manager at Eastspring Investments, the Asian asset management business of Prudential PLC, said investors had expected the Chinese authorities to intervene in the markets given the large declines on Friday.

“But nothing was done. As a result you saw a fairly big beating on a lot of stocks, especially A-Shares,” said Mr. Wong, whose firm oversees $134 billion in assets. “You keep seeing people selling. It’s been a pretty bad day.”

However, Mr. Wong that this is “a fairly good opportunity, especially when we look China right now from a valuation perspective.”

He highlighted that Chinese banks have performed above average during the selloff. He said some materials and real-estate companies in China look like attractive buying opportunities.

“It is about finding that diamond in the rough, but it is possible and there are some diamonds out there,” he said.

5:16 am | China’s ‘Black Monday’ Hits The Black Stuff | by Alistair MacDonald

How low can oil go? The 2008 low of $32.40 a barrel “is a conceivable reality,” Citi Research says. WTI is currently down 3.49% as of trading 10:02 BST to $39.03 a barrel, as a range of commodities are hit by China’s market rout.

Oil balances point to further oversupply throughout 2015, but analyst Christopher Main says reduction in U.S. oil rigs are likely to eventually put a floor on it, not least given its reliance on capital markets. U.S. oil rig counts have rapidly reduced in response to a lower oil price, falling 61% peak-to-trough from October to June. The recent collapse in WTI, combined with potential reductions on access to capital for the industry makes U.S. shale the “likely candidate to put a bottom in the oil prices if they continue to fall. could well see this trend halted, or even reversed.”

5:10 am | Not Many Bulls Left in China - Nomura | by Dominique Fong

“This past week, even some of the most die-hard China bulls that we have spoken with are throwing the towel,” Wendy Liu, a Hong Kong-based China strategist for Nomura, writes in a note to investors. “The perma-China bears have had another field month, looking past a solid interim results season and focusing squarely on the ‘confidence-boosting’ mix of an A-share meltdown, surprise renminbi depreciation, and the chemical explosion at Tianjing port, to validate yet again that something is amiss in China.”

4:53 am | No Window Dressing From Chinese Media | by Carlos Tejada

“Black Monday.” That’s the label used by the People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s main mouthpiece, and the mobile app of the official Xinhua News Agency, to describe China’s 8.5% selloff. The blunt language is notable because official news organizations in China often cushion bad news.

4:36 am | European Indexes All In The Red | by Josie Cox

In early morning trading Monday, London’s FTSE 100 is down 2.5% at 6035, Germany’s DAX is off 2.6% at 9856 and France’s CAC is also 2.6% lower at 4509.

The DAX has fallen below the 10,000 mark for the first time since January. No major country index in Europe is currently trading in positive territory, according to FactSet. The Shanghai Composite sank 8.5% on Monday, entering negative territory for 2015, having risen as much as 60% to its June peak. Japan’s Nikkei benchmark tumbled 4.6%.

4:18 am | Markets Complicate Fed Picture | by Josie Cox

“Markets are finding themselves in a vicious circle,” says Nick Gartside, head of fixed income at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. “We’ve got intense weakness in commodities and emerging markets as well as general concerns about global growth.” He says that as a result, the U.S. Federal Reserve is now unlikely to raise interest rates next month. “Moving in September would be a very courageous call,” he says. He also says that in the longer term the selloff will create buying opportunities, particularly in investment-grade corporate bonds and high-yield corporate bonds.

4:08 am | Caution Amid Market's Momentum, Says NN Investment Partners | by Tommy Stubbington

The selloff has developed a momentum of its own, according to Valentijn van Nieuwenhuijzen, head of multiasset strategy at NN Investment Partners, which has around €184 billion ($209.5 billion) in assets under management.

“It comes against the backdrop of some fundamental reasons. Most obviously this is about China and the risk of a financial system crisis there. But sometimes the market organism takes over and develops a logic of its own.”

“We are at our most cautious positioning in the last few years,” with more cash in the firms portfolios that at any time in roughly the last four years, Mr. van Nieuwenhuijzen said.

3:53 am | Buying Opportunity? Not Yet, Says Julius Baer | by Josie Cox

Stocks may be falling sharply, but Christoph Riniker, head of equity strategy research at Julius Baer, says he would not yet call it a buying opportunity. “As long as we do not know how the Chinese government will react in regard to their domestic growth we would rather stay at the sidelines,” he writes in a note to clients. He says that “more negative is still possible” for markets.

3:48 am | Treasurys Get a Boost | by Tommy Stubbington

Government bonds were boosted as investors headed for assets perceived to be safe. The 10-year Treasury yield sank to 1.994% and was below 2% for the first time since April. German and U.K. government bonds also gained. Yields fall as prices rise.

3:42 am | Oil Prices Slide | by Josie Cox

Oil prices are deep in the red again. Brent crude is down 2.7% at $44.21 a barrel. Earlier Monday it dropped below the $45 a barrel mark for the first time since March 2009. U.S. benchmark WTI is off 3.1% at $39.21. Brent has now fallen more than 56% over the last 12 months.

3:40 am | U.S. Stock Futures Point Lower | by Tommy Stubbington

U.S. stock futures are indicating opening declines of more than 2% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500. The Dow entered a correction on Friday, falling 10% from its recent peak, following its worst week since 2011. Changes in futures aren’t necessarily reflected in market moves after the opening bell.

3:36 am | Emerging-Market FX Falls | by Josie Cox

Emerging-market currencies are taking a fresh hit too. The Russian ruble is down 2.6% against the U.S. dollar, the South African rand is off 2% and the Turkish lira is 1% lower.

3:32 am | Shanghai Finishes Worst Day Since 2008 | by Chao Deng

The Shanghai Composite Index had its worst day since the global financial crisis, with a loss of 8.5% at 3209.91 by the close, the steepest since an 8.8% loss on Feb. 27, 2007. Correction: An earlier version of this item incorrectly said Monday’s loss topped that of Feb. 27, 2008.

3:29 am | Miners Lead U.K. Losses | by Josie Cox

London’s FTSE 100 is 2.4% lower at 6040 shortly after the open, extending its losing streak into a 10th consecutive session. It is now around its lowest level since 2013. Miners are leading losses, with Glencore down 5.6%, Anglo American down 5.4%, Rio Tinto off 4.4% and BHP Billiton down 5.1%.

3:26 am | Looking to China | by Tommy Stubbington

Investors were further rattled Monday by the lack of fresh steps to stem the selloff over the weekend from Chinese authorities. The Wall Street Journal reported that the central bank is preparing to flood the banking system with liquidity to increase lending.

3:25 am | Euro and Yen Rise Against U.S. Dollar | by Josie Cox

The euro is 0.6% higher against the U.S. dollar at $1.1458. Japan’s yen is up more than 0.7%, with the dollar trading at 121.18 yen. Both the euro and the yen have tended to do well during times of market stress in recent weeks. The euro has now risen more than 4% against the buck since the start of August. The yen has risen 2.3% against the dollar over the same period.

3:20 am | Expect Gold to Rise, Says Capital Index | by Josie Cox

Mic Mills, head of client services as brokerage firm Capital Index, says that it will be hard to find bulls in the stock market today. “Where there is despondency in the stock markets the yellow metal always seems to glint so expect gold to continue to rise and improve on the current gains of $90 per troy ounce since last month’s lows,” he says.

3:14 am | Shanghai Loses 8.5% | by Lydia Serota

The Shanghai Composite Index closed 8.5% lower at 3209.91. Japan’s Nikkei fell 4.6%.

3:08 am | European Markets Follow Asia Lower | by Lydia Serota

European stock markets have opened deep in the red. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 is down 3.4%, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 fell 2.4%, Germany’s DAX is off 3.2%.