S&P 500 and Nasdaq Suffer Worst Week Since May 2012

Garrett Baldwin

Stock market today, Oct. 10, 2014: U.S. stock markets continued their downward spiral today (Friday). The sell-off accelerated in the final hour of trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipping another 115 points. This was the worst week for both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq since May 2012. The S&P Volatility Index (VIX) jumped another 13%, finishing one of the most volatile trading weeks of 2014.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices remained flat on the day, finishing at $85.80. Brent crude oil prices gained late in the day to finish at $90.17 per barrel; however, earlier in the trading session, the price hit $88.11, its lowest since December 2010.

Here's the scorecard from today's trading session:

Dow: 16,544.10, -115.15 (-0.69%)
S&P 500: 1,906.15, -22.06 (-1.14%)
Nasdaq: 4,276.24, -102.10 (-2.33%)

Now, here's a breakdown of the top stories from the stock market today:

• Some Good News: Shares of beverage giant The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) rose more than 1.5% on the day, lifting the consumer staple sector on the day. The stock hit a record close on the day. The company received a "Buy" rating from Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) earlier today. Rival PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) was up 1.1% on the day.

• Tech Slump: Shares of electric automaker Tesla Motors Co. (Nasdaq: TSLA) slipped by more than 7.8%, a day after company Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk introduced the company's new D Model. The company also announced it is fighting new legislation in Michigan that would prevent it from selling its cars directly to consumers, avoiding the dealer sales model.

• A Nice Debut: Restaurant and arcade chain Dave & Buster's Entertainment Inc. (Nasdaq: PLAY) saw its shares rise more than 7% during its debut today. The company initially priced shares at the low end of its $16 to $18 range. The company said it will use the $94 million raised during the IPO to pay down its debts.

Garrett Baldwin

About the Author

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Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, and consultant with degrees from Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Indiana University. He is a seasoned financial and political risk analyst, with a focus on stocks, hedge funds, private equity, blockchain, and housing policy. He has conducted risk assessment projects for clients in 27 countries, and consulted on policy and financial operations for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, including a $1.5 trillion credit fund, a $43 billion credit and auto loan giant, as well as two of the largest Wall Street banks by assets under management.

Garrett joined Money Map Press as an economist and researcher in 2011, specializing in alternative strategies with an emphasis on fundamental and technical analysis.

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