February 28, 2018 - 2:01 PM
U.S. stocks sank again on Wednesday and cemented February as the worst month for the market in two years.
Not only was the month's loss sharp, at 3.9 per cent for the Standard & Poor's 500 index, it was also the first in a long time. S&P 500 index funds snapped a record-setting run where they had made money for 15 straight months, including dividends.
Some of Wednesday's drop was due to a slide in the price of oil, which sent energy stocks to the market's sharpest losses.
On Wednesday:
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 30.45 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 2,713.83.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 380.83, or 1.5 per cent, to 25,029.20.
The Nasdaq composite dropped 57.35, or 0.8 per cent, to 7,273.01.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks fell 24.03, or 1.6 per cent, to 1,512.45.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is down 33.47 points, or 1.2 per cent.
The Dow is down 280.79 points, or 1.1 per cent.
The Nasdaq is down 64.38 points, or 0.9 per cent.
The Russell 2000 is down 36.74 points, or 2.4 per cent.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is up 40.22 points, or 1.5 per cent.
The Dow is up 309.98 points, or 1.3 per cent.
The Nasdaq is up 369.62 points, or 5.4 per cent.
The Russell 2000 is down 23.06 points, or 1.5 per cent.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018