A post Obama re-election selloff on Wall Street started early Wednesday morning and snowballed into a year-worst 313-point loss for the Dow that sent the index below 13,000 for the first time since early September.
An unsettling report on continued slow economic growth in Europe — and Germany in particular — didn’t help.
At the day’s close, the Dow fell 2.36% to 12,932.73, the S&P shed 2.37% to 1,394.53, and the Nasdaq suffered the worst, falling 2.48% to 2,937.29.
Financial stocks were stomped out Wednesday, with Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS, -8%) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC, -7%) among the hardest-hit as investors showed concern that the election of Senator Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts might lead to greater bank regulation.
Also falling were Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS, -6%), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM, -5%) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC, -4%).
The selloff was broad-based, though, with coal and other energy stocks falling sharply after rallying last month on hopes for a different administration. Among some of the biggest movers were James River Coal (NASDAQ:JRCC), which plummeted 30%, and Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE:ANR), down 12%. Oil companies Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) also slipped, with XOM down more than 3% and CVX down over 2.5% as oil prices sunk.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) continued a recent slide, falling nearly 4% on the day taking the S&P 500 and Nasdaq down with it. The biggest news dogging Apple on Wednesday was a $368 million lawsuit settlement with holding company VirnetX Holding (AMEX:VHC). Apple now has shed about 15% in the past month.
Chipmaker Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) also saw a big move down on the day, losing over 3%.
Still, it wasn’t all bad news. A few stocks looking to benefit from an unchecked rolling-out of Obamacare rose. Hospital operator HCA (NYSE:HCA) was up just nearly 10% on the day, as was healthcare services operator Tenet Healthcare (NYSE:THC). Health Management Associates (NYSE:HMA) rose more than 7%, and Vanguard Health Systems (NYSE:VHS) rose finished up 5%.
On a slow earnings day, Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) shares rose more than 4% after the posting higher-than-expected profits for the third quarter thanks to strength in its cable networks.
Three Up
- Ciena (NASDAQ:CIEN): Up 9.6% ($1.27) to $14.45.
- Smith & Wesson (NASDAQ:SWHC): Up 9.6% (91 cents) to $10.37.
- JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ:JDSU): Up 4.9% (52 cents) to $11.15.
Three Down
- Goodrich Petroleum (NYSE:GDP): Down 11.6% ($1.38) to $10.52.
- Vringo (AMEX:VRNG): Down 9.2% (33 cents) to $3.24.
- Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM): Down 9.1% (82 cents) to $8.24.
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor at InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he was long AAPL, XOM and TWX.
