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"Black Thursday" 2020 will live in infamy as one of the worst days ever for the stock market, but the worst could be yet to come.
Today, we'll give you three steps to protect your money before it gets worse...
The Dow plunged 10% in one trading day on Thursday, making it the fourth worst day behind the 1929 stock market crash and "Black Monday" in 1987.
| Date | Close | Net Loss | % Loss |
| Oct. 19, 1987 | 1,738.74 | -508.00 | -22.61% |
| Oct. 28, 1929 | 260.64 | -38.33 | -12.82% |
| Oct. 29, 1929 | 230.07 | -30.57 | -11.73% |
| March 12, 2020 | 21,200.62 | -2,352.60 | -9.99% |
| Nov. 6, 1929 | 232.13 | -25.55 | -9.92% |
But as you can see with the 1929 stock market crash, the bleeding didn't stop after one historically bad day. That's the nature of a market crash. Once the selling begins, everyone wants out. And the more people who sell, the more it pushes prices down, forcing even more people to cut their losses.
After the market's historically bad day on Thursday, stocks have slightly rebounded on Friday. But that could be just another dead cat bounce.
After stocks plunged 1,000 points on Monday (the 12th worst day for the Dow ever), stocks bounced up 900 points on Tuesday. That turned out to be false hope.
Market watchers blamed U.S. President Donald Trump's Oval Office speech on Tuesday night for the plunge on Wednesday. The solemn speech was a sign of the severity of the coronavirus crisis, and the president mistakenly said all trade with Europe would be cut off, further spooking investors.
No amount of corrections or clarifications on Wednesday could stem the tide, not even a $1.5 trillion intervention from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The crisis is only deepening now. Major events are being cancelled in a rush, from the NCAA basketball tournament, to the NBA and NHL seasons, to even the Boston Marathon. American companies are instituting work-from-home policies while local governments try to figure out how to manage the strain on services.
Businesses are planning for at least two weeks of disruptions, with the possibility for more. We haven't seen the worst of it yet.
President Trump is scheduled to address the nation again today at 3 p.m., just an hour before trading closes for the weekend. That's likely strategic. He's expected to declare a national emergency, and there's little he can say right now to assure investors. Any negative updates or mistakes like Tuesday could sink the markets again.
We could be looking at another "Black Monday" next week.
Before it gets to that, there's still time to protect yourself.
Here are three steps you can take right now to protect yourself...
