Today's 1000+ point plunge for the Dow Jones Industrial Average can be attributed primarily to algorithmic, programmed trading. In an absence of any particular news during a trading day, the massive selling (or buying) that occurs during the opening or final hour of a trading day illustrates that a good deal of selling is occurring because of broken technical market levels which triggers further selling and a negative feedback loop. In addition, the massive rise of passive investing in indexes - which are laden with overvalued growth stocks unlike the reasonably priced value-based, dividend stocks we own - is major contributor to the recent sell-off as valuations come back down to earth for such overpriced companies.
