The Dow Jones industrial average plunged more than 1,100 points Monday erasing its gains for the year in a wild trading session. The average had dropped more than 1,500 points during the day before recovering and closing the day, 1,176 points down, its lowest point of 2018 so far.
The drop, 1,176 points or 4.6%, was largest in the average’s history point-wise, but not percentage wise. It came on the same day that the Federal Reserve’s new Chairman, Jerome Powell was being sworn in.
The selloff came on the heels of a steep drop on Friday of 665 points, itself the sixth-largest point drop in the Dow’s history. The retreat, experts believe, is due to fears that Powell and the Fed will raise interest rates, which have been at historic lows for years.