Dow Jones drops nearly 550 points one day after 800-point freefall

Oct. 11 (UPI) -- The Dow Jones dropped nearly 550 points Thursday after it fell more than 800 points on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 546 points, or 2.1 percent, at the end of trading Thursday on the heels of the third largest single-day drop in its history the day before.

It fell as much as 698.97 points at its lows of the day and rebounded after reports President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would meet at next month's G-20 summit, easing trade fears, CNBC reported.

The S&P 500 dropped 2.1 percent, marking its sixth straight decline after also experiencing a large drop on Wednesday.

The Nasdaq was in a correction, marking a 10 percent drop from its previous high, but eventually bounced and closed down 1.3 percent, according to CNN.

The VIX volatility index also reached its highest level since February, when the Dow experienced its two largest drops in history.

The Dow plummeted 831 points to close at 25,598.74 Wednesday -- the greatest drop since February and the third worst point decline in history.

Shares of blue chip tech companies like Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google were hardest hit.

Another ominous sign came from the Chicago CBOE Volatility Index -- considered a fear gauge for the market -- when it climbed to 24.1 points Thursday, its highest level in six months.

"Equity markets were pulverized today as investors remain in full out retreat and even the most pessimistic of equity bears are still in shock by the sheer magnitude of the move," analyst Stephen Innes said. "This meltdown isn't just a mild case of the sniffles suggesting the latest sneeze from the U.S. equity markets could morph into a global markets pandemic."

Innes attributes the selloff to interest rate hikes and the escalating trade war between the United States and China. The tech sector is particularly vulnerable to higher interest rates.

Benchmark indexes in Japan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia had fallen by early Thursday.

Some investors wonder if this could be the beginning of the end for the bull market, which has run for nearly a decade after the financial crisis.

Cirrus Wealth Management President Joe Heider said the selloff may be a good thing.

"The selloff is healthy," he said. "Since the market bottomed in March 2009, it's been nearly 10 years of growth stocks leading the way non-stop."

R.M. Davis President Geoff Alexander agreed the falling indices could be a good thing -- just as long as the U.S. economy keeps growing.

"We've scratched our heads about the rise in stocks for the past 18 months," he said. "But this is nothing to be overly concerned about."