STOCKS PLUNGE AGAIN: Here’s What You Need To Know

MYLES UDLAND

 OCT. 14, 2014

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Stocks plunged again on Monday for the third straight day.

Stocks finished lower for the third straight day on a Columbus Day holiday trading sessions that saw US equity markets remain open while bond markets and banks were closed for the day. Stocks bounced around for most of the day before nosediving into the close, just as they did on Friday, with all of the major indexes falling more than 1.3% as the Dow lost more than 210 points. Over the last three days, the S&P 500 has now lost 4.8%, the largest three-day decline since November 2011. 

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 16,320.3, -223, (-1.3%)
• S&P 500: 1,874.8, -31.3, (-1.6%)
• Nasdaq: 4,213.6, -62.6, (-1.4%)

And now, the top stories on Monday:

1. With banks and the bond market closed, there were no economic data releases on the US calendar. Overnight, however, trade data out of China came in better than expected, as exports rose 15.3% in September compared to a year ago. 

2. The 2014 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to French economist Jean Tirole for his analysis of market power and regulation. Business Insider’s Shane Ferro has a breakdown of some of Tirole’s most recent work, which centers in part on explaining how CEOs come to command such outsized compensation.

3. Shares of GoPro fell more than 9% on Monday amid both broad market weakness and new reports that indicate a GoPro helmet could have been responsible for the seriousness of the skiing accident involving Formula One driver Michael Schumacher. GoPro did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment on Monday. Shares of GoPro, however have been notably weak over the last few days as the Nasdaq has been the biggest loser among the major indexes, and including Monday’s decline, GoPro shares are now down more than 15% over the last five days.

4. Airline stocks were among the biggest losers on Monday, with shares of United, Delta, and American Airlines all falling more than 6%. Traders were attributing the decline to the recent Ebola outbreak; over the weekend, the second case of Ebola in the US was confirmed in Dallas. On Monday, reports said the second patient was a nurse at the Dallas hospital that treated Thomas Eric Duncan, the first US Ebola patient who passed away last week. 

5. Amid continued fears over an outbreak of the Ebola virus, shares of Lakeland Industries and Alpha Pro Tech continued their huge rally, with both stocks gaining more than 30% on Monday. Lakeland makes hazmat suits, while Alpha Pro Tech makes protective face masks and other gear, and the two companies have seen shares more than double over the last couple weeks as Ebola fears spread through the market.

6. Fiat Chrysler shares made their debut in New York, beginning trading under the ticker ‘FCAU,’ and marking the return of Chrysler to the US market after Fiat took control of the bankrupt company in 2009. Also in auto news, shares of Tesla on Monday officially entered a bear market after falling 20% from their peak made on September 4. 

7. Shares of eyewear company Luxottica fell more than 9% after its co-CEO Enrico Cavatorta quit after just six weeks on the job. 

8. T-Mobile US shares fell more than 2% after French telecom company Iliad said it would not pursue a deal for the mobile carrier. 

9. J.C. Penney named Home Depot executive Marvin Ellison as president and said Ellison will take over as the retailer’s CEO in August 2015. Ellison most recently served as executive VP of Home Depot’s stores and is largely credited with turning around Home Depot’s business after the housing crisis.