A Bear Market Is Here

The Dow closed at its lowest point since August 2006, falling 237 points to close at 11,147. The NASDAQ dropped 60 points to finish at 2,235. The Dow’s closing point marked a 21% decline from it’s high of last October. Traditionally, a decline of 20% or more has been considered a bear market.

The internet sector followed the broader markets sell-off. Orbitz (OWW: 3.60 +0.84%) was one of the biggest losers falling almost 10% today. However, they weren’t the only stock experiencing big losses today as Move (MOVE: 7.77 -2.75%), Overstock (OSTK: 7.18 +1.41%), Amazon (AMZN: 186.00 +0.98%), IAC Interactive (IACI: 45.14 -1.05%), and Limelight Networks (LLNW: 3.98 +1.79%) all fell 6%, while The Knot (KNOT: 0.00 N/A) fell 7%.

Surprisingly even with the big sell-off today there were still a few bright spots. ZipRealty (ZIPR: 1.18 +2.61%) and Sohu (SOHU: 52.00 +0.80%) both gained 5% on strong trading volumes.

The psychological effect of closing in bear market territory could be significant. It will be interesting to see how investors react in the coming days. Is this a great buying opportunity or is the worst still to come?