The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 500 points at the opening of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, a day after it plunged a record 1,175 points, but the index quickly recouped its losses and entered positive territory.
The Dow was up more than 200 points within the first half-hour of the trading day.
This morning’s initial nose dive came after two consecutive days of negative trading, including a 600 point drop on Friday.
The Dow has lost about 10 percent since reaching a record high of 26,616 on Jan. 26, 2018 — putting it in correction territory.
The S&P 500 also opened lower but quickly bounced back and was up 16 points just before 10 a.m. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 128 points at the start of the trading day but rallied and was up more than 50 points in the first 30 minutes of trading.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressed confidence in the market Tuesday morning in Washington while addressing the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill.
“The stock market is up significantly, over 30 percent since President Trump was elected,” Mnuchin told the committee. “We’re monitoring the stock market. They’re functioning very well and we continue to believe in the long-term impact of the stock market.”
He added that the fundamental economics are very strong and the recent passage of tax reform is “very positive for long-term economic growth.”
“We’re already beginning to see that in terms of corporate investment back in the United States and that impact on corporate earnings,” Mnuchin said.
Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab, told ABC News the fall had been expected after markets hit record highs. He said traders are still jittery about jumping back in.
“People need to be a little bit cautious,” Frederick said. “It’s time to sit back and wait because we might not have hit bottom.”
The Dow’s plunge on Monday set off global shock waves. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 4.73 percent Tuesday and China’s Shanghai SE Composite Index was down 3.35 percent.
