America’s benchmark S&P 500 index has officially entered a correction, defined as a 10% decline from recent highs.
The S&P 500, which is comprised of the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the U.S., fell
1.39% on March 13, bringing it down 10.1% from its record close earlier this year and putting it into an official correction.
The technology-laden Nasdaq Composite index was already in a correction, having fallen 13% from its recent peak.
And the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks is down 19% from its top last November and approaching a bear market, defined as a decline of 20% or more from recent highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average comprised of 30 blue-chip stocks is now the only U.S. index that is not in correction territory. The Dow is down 4% this year.
The decline in U.S. equities comes amid ongoing trade skirmishes between the U.S. and the rest of the world, and as President Donald Trump announces on-again, off-again tariffs.
There are also rising concerns that the U.S. economy could be headed for a recession this year amid signs that consumer spending is slowing dramatically.
Consequently, investors have soured on risk assets such as stocks and cryptocurrencies and have moved into cash or shifted capital to safe haven assets such as gold and bonds.
On the same day that the S&P 500 entered a correction, the price of gold traded above $3,000 U.S. an ounce for the first time, hitting an all-time high in the process.
