Photo from The Brokers With Hands On Their Faces Blog
Other major indexes besides the Dow got whacked, closing at multi-year lows. 8000 on the Dow was where major support was, and a battle had raged there for weeks between bears and bulls. That support has now been broken. This was not just another bad day on the market, but something more significant.
When major support levels are smashed, program trading and those who follow technical analysis will start selling. Which will provoke more selling. This on top of the seemingly random dumping of stocks by hedge funds that are liquidating or are facing huge redemptions.
As a historical point of interest, it should be noted that Gene Simmons of Kiss opened the NYSE today. Maybe it should have been AC/DC singing Highway to Hell instead.