Historic Pace Of Selling

Just a quick note due to recent volatility in the stock index futures. The S&P 500 is currently indicated to gap down at the open by nearly 1%, which comes on the heels of 3 straight 1% closing losses.

This kind of emotional selling pressure is extraordinarily rare, even during the worst of the bear markets we've experienced over the past 36 years, since the inception of the futures markets.

The table below shows every occurrence of the S&P sliding 1% or more for 3 straight days, then gapping down more than 0.5% at the next day's open (this morning). Returns are shown from the open of the day with the large gap down (this morning).

Other than Black Monday, the futures rebounded during the next 3-4 days each time.