S&P 500, Dow Industrials See Worst Ever Start To New Year

Steep losses during the first four trading sessions of 2016 have marked the worst start to a new year for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average in history. The S&P 500 lost 100 points, or 4.9% over the past four sessions, closing at 1,943.09 on Thursday, its lowest level since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 911 points, or 5.2% since Monday, according to FactSet. On Thursday, the Dow lost 392.41 points, or 2.3%, to 16,514.10, closing 10% below its intraday record in May. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite fell 146.34 points, or 3%, to 4,689.43, erasing its modest year-to-date gain. Over the past four sessions, the tech-heavy index lost 6.35%, its worst start to the year since 2000. All three main indexes are down about 10% from their record highs in May.