Thursday was ripe with worries on Wall Street, the result of which was a drop of 264 points on the Dow and the S&P 500 falling more than 1.5% by market close.
Early analysis held that the plummet was attributed to concerns over worsening relations between the United States and Russia. Reports surfaced that the Kremlin was considering a measure that would allow its courts to seize foreign assets.
But as the day went on, much of the drop in prices was limited to the tech sector, led by Apple dropping over 3% in less than an hour. Ongoing user problems with the new iPhone 6 were to blame.
The Chicago Board Option Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index leaped almost 18% throughout the day—no surprise, as volatility has been the common theme on Wall Street this week. Monday and Tuesday each saw triple-digit drops in the Dow, followed by a 150-point rebound on Wednesday. But the recovery was washed away –literally—on this rainy Thursday.
As of the start of business Friday, the Dow is down over 150 points for the month of September.