The daily business briefing: October 11, 2018

The Dow plunges by 832 points and futures fall further, Sears shares drop by 35 percent after report of looming bankruptcy, and more

Traders on the NYSE floor in NYC after a Dow drop
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

1. Dow drops by more than 800 points

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged by 832 points or 3.2 percent on Wednesday, its worst drop since February and its third worst point drop ever. The S&P 500 dropped by 3.1 percent, its fifth straight daily loss and its biggest since February. The Nasdaq Composite did even worse, falling by 4.1 percent as technology stocks led the declines. Stocks have been struggling as Treasury bond yields rise, scaring investors with the prospect of higher borrowing costs. "When rates spike like they have, some reaction is unavoidable," said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network. President Trump blamed the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates too fast, saying it had "gone crazy." U.S. stock futures fell further early Thursday as global stocks dropped.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.