Barack Obama won the presidency yesterday. And today stocks got crushed.
First the scoreboard:
Dow: 12,932, -312.9, -2.3 percent
S&P 500: 1,394, -33.1, -2.3 percent
NASDAQ: 2,937, -74.2, -2.4 percent
And now the top stories:
- It's not completely accurate to say the markets fell after Obama won the election. In fact, last night when it became apparent that Obama would defeat Mitt Romney, the U.S. futures market actually rallied. And the rally continued into the morning.
- However, markets appeared to get hit by a one-two punch from Europe. First, we learned that German industrial production plunged 1.8 in September, which was much worse than the 0.5 percent decline expected. This comes on the tail of yesteday's horrific factory orders report and last week's bad PMI manufacturing number.
- The second bad European headline also involved Germany. In a speech today, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi warned "Data suggest economic slowdown has reached Germany." Markets really tanked after this statement. European markets got destroyed.
- At 3:00 PM, the Federal Reserve released its September consumer credit report, and it was good. Credit expanded by $11.36 billion, which was more than the $10.17 billion expected by economists. Last month's figure was revised up to $18.391 billion from $18.123 billion.
- It's no surprise that the biggest losers today included the "Republican-favored industries." The sell-off in defense stocks suggest people are worried about the fiscal cliff. Here Are 9 'Cliffs' That Have Everyone Freaked Out >
- A post-election sell-off is actually quite normal. According to Bespoke Investment Group, five out of the last seven post election day trading sessions saw sell-offs. Chalk that number up to six. UBS: Here Are 14 Stocks That Could Surge With Obama In The White House >
- It's worth noting that Apple's sell-off put the stock 20 percent below its recent high. Some pundits were quick to call it a "bear market." DoubleLine's Jeff Gundlach was on CNBC this morning saying that the stock could fall another 25 percent. "The product innovator, as I've said over and over again, isn't there anymore," he said.
- Don't Miss: 26 Epic Propaganda Posters From Chinese Communists >
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