Global stock markets are getting hammered, and the worst may be ahead of us.
Even the "Mad Money" guy is saying not to buy.
After a slight uptick Tuesday, the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 were both slumping again Wednesday morning, continuing a decline that, over three days of trading starting last Wednesday, erased four months worth of gains.
Image via Google Finance
Image via Google Finance
The trouble isn't just with stocks either, as yields on the 10-year Treasury bond tanked to below 2 percent Wednesday morning.
Part of the cause: bad economic news that hit Wednesday morning, with U.S. retail sales falling a greater-than-expected 0.3 percent in September and the New York Federal Reserve saying that Empire State manufacturers are facing dramatically worsening business conditions.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during early trading on Oct. 14, 2014 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
But broader global concerns over the Ebola outbreak (could travel bans take a bite out of global business?), the Islamic State (will the Middle East devolve further into chaos?) and plummeting oil prices (good for consumers, bad for investors) are also likely contributing to investors' skittishness.
"If you get another case of Ebola in the middle of the day, the market goes down," Jim Cramer, the normally positive host of "Mad Money," told CNBC Tuesday. "If Kabul falls, the market goes down."
Explaining that he saw nothing that could buoy the market in coming months, and plenty of negative signals, Cramer said, "This is not a dip to buy."
Cramer isn't alone in his negativity.
Fund manager Jeffrey Gundlach told CNBC Tuesday that the stock market probably peaked back in September, and as MarketWatch reported, market conditions are such that even as the market tumbles, it might not be a good opportunity to buy in, since investors are hedging with equity bets and historically, the six months after such a movement is actually characterized by further negative returns.
In other words, things will likely get worse before they get better.
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Follow Zach Noble (@thezachnoble) on Twitter
