Dow tumbles more than 450 points, wiping out all gains this year
Global markets tumbled Tuesday heading toward the Thanksgiving holiday as the weekslong swoon in technology stocks deepened and dragged other sectors - including retail - with it.
All three major U.S. indexes were likely to see their 2018 gains erased if the market decline holds through the session.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 600 points in morning trading. Apple and Caterpillar were carrying the Dow down in late morning trades.
The Nasdaq composite continued to sell off as the technology majors powering the bull market over the past year decline on fears of a slowdown.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq is firmly in correction territory and at a seven-month low. It is down 15 percent from its recent peak. A correction is considered a decline of 10 percent from its high.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index dropped 1.5 percent, with around 40 percent of the index in correction territory.
Retailers were slammed Tuesday, with Target and Kohl's down around 10 percent. Home repair retailer Lowe's was down more than 3.6 percent.
Boeing, which had been a Dow star over the past couple of years of the bull market, has gotten creamed in recent days.
Analyst Jeff Windau of Edward Jones attributed Tuesday's decline in Boeing shares to the cancellation of a scheduled call between the aerospace giant and several airlines to discuss last month's deadly crash of a Boeing 737 jet in Indonesia.
"The canceled call raises a question about whether the company knows some information and what's happening behind the scenes," said Windau, who has a "buy" on Boeing. "Everyone is waiting for information. When you have that period of time when people are waiting, that's when you see stock fluctuations because of the uncertainty."
Boeing's long-term strategy is largely pinned on the workhorse 737 and its latest iteration, the 737 MAX, "which is where their future lies," Windau said.
The one bright spot? Utilities moved higher. They are seen as a haven for investors nervous about a decline in high-growth stocks like technology.
Markets have lost momentum in the past several weeks despite a strong earnings season. Equity investors are digesting a barrage of negativity, from a poor corporate outlook for 2019 to rising interest rates by the Federal Reserve, a strong U.S. dollar hurting profits and a Chinese trade war.
Asian markets were in the red, led by the Shanghai index at a 2.13 percent loss, followed by Hang Sengand Japan's Nikkei 225.
Both the Asian and European auto sectors appeared unnerved by the arrest in Japan on Monday of Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who is accused of underreporting his pay and may be forced out of his chairmanship. Nissan shares a partnership with French automaker Renault and with Mitsubishi.
Oil prices fell further, adding to market tensions. West Texas Intermediate was down 1.66 percent and benchmark Brent Crude was down 1.9 percent. Oil prices are down about 20 percent over the past several weeks, which some Wall Street watchers see is a sign that the world economy is weakening.
Monday was no help as a key report on homebuilders showed a softening in homebuilder sentiment. The index dropped 8 points, the lowest reading in more than two years.
But the market is suffering the most from the big-growth technology titans. The FAANG companies alone - Facebook, Amazon.com, Apple, Netflix, Google-parent Alphabet - have seen nearly $1 trillion shaved from their total market capitalization since their recent highs.
Facebook is down 39 percent from its high, with a loss of around $250 billion in market cap. Amazon (founded by Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos) is down 25 percent, Apple down 20 percent, Netflix 36 percent and Google around 20 percent.
Tech powerhouse Nvidia has lost nearly half its value from its high.
Apple and Facebook have been pounded in recent weeks following negative news stories, including fears of a drop in demand for Apple's big driver, the iPhone and reports of tumult in embattled Facebook's executive ranks.