Market Overview

Recession fears dominated global markets, triggering a "Black Monday." $.DJI.US$ dropped nearly 1,240 points or 3.1% at the open and widened to over 1,000 points by the close. $.SPX.US$ fell as much as 4.2%, $.IXIC.US$ plunged 6.4%, and $.RUT.US$ dropped 5.5%. The S&P and Dow saw their steepest declines in two years, with major indices marking their worst three-day drop since June 2022. The "fear index" $.VIX.US$ surged 181% to 65.73, its highest level since the pandemic in March 2020.

The semiconductor index initially fell about 7% before turning positive. $NVDA.US$ dropped as much as 15%, closing down over 6%, $AAPL.US$ fell 4.8%, $TSLA.US$ dropped 4.2%, and the "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks lost a combined market value of $1.3 trillion in early trading. The Chinese concept stocks index fell 3.2% before closing higher, with $NEW ORIENTAL-S.HK$ up nearly 11%.

The U.S. ISM services index for July returned to expansion, slowing the decline in Treasury yields. The 2/10 year U.S. Treasury yield curve briefly ended its inversion, with benchmark yields dropping double digits to over a one-year low.

The dollar hit a seven-month intraday low. The offshore yuan surged 779 points to its highest in over a year. The yen rose as much as 3.3%, breaking above 142. Bitcoin briefly fell below $50,000.

U.S. crude oil fell below $73 to a six-month low. Gold, silver, and copper all fell, with silver plummeting.