Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 9, 2020.
Bryan R. Smith | Reuters
Monday’s dramatic sell-off pushed the United States stock market deeper into correction territory as investors struggled to gauge the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak and a global price war on oil.
The turbulent day of trading sent some indexes and levels to history-making levels.
Biggest Dow points decline ever
Treasury yields hit new lows
The 10-year Treasury yield hit an all-time low in overnight trading, falling to 0.318% briefly before rebounding back above 0.5%. The key yield fell below 1.0% for the first time less than a week ago.
The 30-year Treasury yield also hit a record low, falling as low as 0.702% before finishing at 1.03%.
Oil’s dramatic fall
Oil saw its second-largest price drop on record, with West Texas International price falling by 24.59% to settle at $31.13 per barrel. The only worse day since the WTI began trading on the NYMEX in 1983 was during the Gulf War in 1991. International benchmark Brent crude also fell by more than 24%.
As a result, the S&P 500 Energy Sector fell 20% to post its worst day on record, going back to 1989.
Key ETFs that track the sector also had rough days. The SPDR S&P Oil and Gas Exploration ETF fell nearly 37% and the Energy Select Sector ETF dropped 20% in the worst day ever for both products.
Bid-ask spreads widen in bond market
In addition to the statistics, there was anecdotal evidence of unusual activity, even for market veterans.
JPMorgan‘s Bob Michele told CNBC’s Steve Liesman on “Power Lunch” that there were serious issues making deals in the bond market on Monday, with large spreads between the prices offered by buyers and sellers. He said one of his co-workers told him that at one point there were no offers on a 30-year bond.
“I’ve been doing this 40 years. I’ve never seen that before,” Michele said.
— CNBC’s Gina Francolla contributed to this story.
