It’s happened in only 31 days. It’s been a rough year for investors, and it’s just getting started. The S&P 500 Index has plunged 10.5% since the first trading day of 2016, erasing $1.78 trillion in value for investors, says S&P’s Richard Peterson, a senior director of Global Markets Intelligence. On average, investors have lost a collective $57 billion per trading day this year. Ouch. That’s roughly equal to the GDP of Canada in 2014, according to the World Bank.
The number appears as the S&P 500 extended its losses for the fifth straight day Thursday, falling 1.23% and closing at 1,829.08 Thursday—its lowest since April 2014. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 255 points, or 1.6%. The technology heavy Nasdaq was the relative winner for the day, down just 0.39%.
The drop in the S&P 500 on Thursday was led by a plunge in the shares of Mylan. The drugmaker’s stock fell 18% after announcing plans to buy Swedish pharmaceutical company, Meda. For the year, the S&P 500 has been led downward in 2016 by financials, consumer discretionary, and information technology sectors, posting declines of 15%, 12%, and 12% respectively. READ MORE
