Stocks had a very stormy Monday — and Tuesday might be just as bad.
The major indices all took big hits yesterday as investors decided it was time to take some money out of the market and lock in whatever gains they could.
The Dow Jones industrial average had its fifth straight down day, losing 243.54 points — or 2.16 percent of its value — to finish at an anemic 11,008.17.
The bellwether index had been up as much as 100 points in the morning and the huge one-day swing of 449 points was the biggest since the volatile days of October 1997.
The Nasdaq Composite Index fared even worse with the tech-heavy favorite plummeting 3.29 percent or 139.32 points to 4,096.08.
The broader S&P 500 saw 81 of its 89 industry sectors fall as it shed 39.45, or 2.74 percent, to end the day at 1,401.91.
Bob Walberg, of the research service Briefing.com, said he thinks yeterday was the start of a 10 or 15 percent drop across all the indices over the next few weeks.
“The market is finally going to go through that correction that was put off by seasonal factors,” he said.
Experts advise that investors who are in the market for the long haul should sit tight if they believe in the companies they own.
A survey out today said 70 percent of traders believe the Dow will pass 13,000 and the Nasdaq will hit 5,000 by the end of the year — a healthy 15 and 25 percent gain from yesterday’s close
If investors are nervous about positions in more volatile technology stocks, the wavering markets might indicate a good time to move to safer blue chips or bonds.
Briefing.com’s Walberg said the huge run-up in the markets at the end of last year led to heavy tax-related selling at the dawn of 2000, pushing the Nasdaq down 9.8 percent in the first three days of the year.
But 401(K) and other pension money was then put to work and the markets got a healthy two-week lift.
Now that most of the earnings of the big stocks are out, people have nothing to look forward to but the Federal Reserve Board raising rates on Feb. 2.
“People are coming to the conclusion that now is the time to take some money off the table,” Walberg said.
The Dow — which is now down over 4 percent for the year — saw 25 of its 30 stocks fall while declining issues beat advancers on the Big Board by two-to-one.