Leaders | Financial markets

A new bear market in American shares

Could the sell-off raise the danger of a recession?

AMERICA’s BEAR season, when hikers are advised to stay on their trails and carry pepper spray, runs for two months from September. It has come early for investors. The S&P500 index of leading American stocks has fallen by 18% from its all-time high in January, ten percentage points of which was in the past month alone. The index is flirting with bear-market territory, a 20% decline. The NASDAQ, a tech-heavy benchmark, has plunged well past that level. Since November it has shed 29%.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Grisly reality”

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