Instant view: S&P 500 enters bear market territory

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 entered bear market territory after the open on Tuesday, down over 20 percent from its 2011 high, as European officials considered making banks take bigger losses on Greek debt and fears of contagion in the world's financial system grew.

COMMENTS:

WILLIAM LARKIN, FIXED INCOME PORTFOLIO MANAGER, CABOT MONEY MANAGEMENT, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS:

We are going to see lower (Treasuries) yields if it is possible. If you had asked me a year ago that yields would get this low I would say that you are crazy. 2.72 percent on the 30-year? That is beyond my comprehension.

Cash looks great. Right now you have to be very careful."

MICHAEL WOOLFOLK, SENIOR CURRENCY STRATEGIST, BNY MELLON, NEW YORK

"There are two separate issues here. Are financial markets pricing in more risk and uncertainty? Yes, no question. Will things get worse before they get better? Yes. The same pattern we've been seeing of people allocating away from stocks and toward cash and bonds should continue until a Greek resolution is in place. That's the most important issue. But this does not imply a double-dip recession in the United States. There is stimulus in the pipeline here that should help maintain growth in the future despite all these ongoing debt difficulties. A double-dip scenario in Europe is also unlikely given continued export-led growth in Germany."

SAID JOSEPH TREVISANI, CHIEF MARKET ANALYST, FX SOLUTIONS, SADDLE RIVER, NEW JERSEY

LINDSAY PIEGZA, ECONOMIST, FTN FINANCIAL, NEW YORK

"We saw a lot of back and forth between the U.S. and China about this impending trade war. Just the fact that we're going back and forth over raising further barriers to growth is causing anxiety.

"Another factor is Dexia -- the Belgian bank coming under structural problems and needing to get bailed out. The European banking community is continuing to hold this unsavory debt on their balance sheets and they continue to try to work through that.

"More and more analysts in the U.S. are suggesting that there is no solution to the European problem and they're just pushing the problem down the road.

"If we do see a European recession that would be very very bad for the equity markets. That will dampen global growth prospects."

ERIC GREEN, SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER AND DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AT PENN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT IN PHILADELPHIA, WHICH OVERSEES $6.5 BILLION

"The bear market is just a number that the media likes to use; I don't see people changing strategies because of it. It feels like we're getting oversold, but the weakness has persisted a lot longer than people were anticipating."