Markets around the world have taken investors on a roller coaster ride this week, and none more so than the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The Dow has traveled more than 10,000 points this week in just four sessions, according to CNBC, without including Friday’s close. This has led many observers to note that the volatility could be here to stay.
“We are experiencing the new behavior of the highly interconnected global system,” former European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet told CNBC. “Clearly, that is suggesting that we have to live now with much higher, high-frequency level of volatility.”
To recap: Monday saw the Dow drop by more than 1,000 points, the largest one-day point decline ever on an intraday basis. It would end the day with a 588-point decline, the worst for the Dow since August 2011.
Tuesday saw a brief rally after China, where worries over a stagnating economy is believed to be the source of much of the Dow’s turbulence, said it was cutting interest rates. The market would still suffer a 205-point loss, marking a six-day losing streak for the Dow.
Wednesday would be a comeback for the ages. Investors bought up value-for-money stocks, helping the Dow to a 619-point increase, the biggest gain since the 2008 financial crisis. The upward trend didn’t stop on Thursday, as the index gained 369 points on encouraging reports on the U.S. economy.
