Markets Get Hammered

The Dow broke the year's lows falling 358 points, oil popped to a new all-time high of $140.39, GM hit a 53-year low, the VIX spiked 13% to 23.93...what a day on Wall Street!

Crude rallied into its 2:30 pit trading close hitting a new all-time high of $140.39 before closing at $139.50. While a breakout from the 14-day consolidation should lead to much higher prices, there was not enough time before the pit closed to really skyrocket. I expect crude to move substantially higher tomorrow and over the next couple weeks.

The VIX spiked 13% closing at 23.93, a very expected turn of events. Today's spike finally shows a little fear and uncertainty coming into the markets. But, we must remember that capitulation bottoms are formed with VIX spikes to the high 30s and 40s while the low 20s still signal a pervasive calm.

The big news on the day was the Dow Jones Industrial Average breaking through the year's lows hit in January. We are now down 13.7% for the year and 19.8% off our all-time highs. We are very close to bear market territory of 20% declines in the Dow Jones index.