Stocks Drop for Third Straight Session

For the third straight session, US stocks finished in the red, an occurrence that hasn't befallen US indices since the first week of August. Tuesday's losses were minimized by concerted buying after the indices bottomed out mid-morning. The Dow was down more than 450 points at its nadir.

More concerning than a mild adjustment in the value of stocks was the movement in US treasuries, as the 10-year note yield dropped 11 basis points on the day, falling to 1.72%, the lowest level since October 10. After spending the first seven months of 2019 with a yield in excess of 2.00%, the benchmark bond has steadfastly maintained a "one-handle" in subsequent months. A prolonged stock selloff would likely send yields to year-lows in a rush to safety.

The ten-year note bottomed out at 1.47% in late August, early September, closing at that yield on three separate occasions. That's still a way off, though there are signs that a repeat of last December's deep stock dive could be readying.

At the Close, Tuesday, December 3, 2019:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 27,502.81, -280.23 (-1.01%)
NASDAQ: 8,520.64, -47.34 (-0.55%)
S&P 500: 3,093.20, -20.67 (-0.66%)
NYSE Composite: 13,366.09, -82.17 (-0.61%)