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With the sector down over 25% so far this year, it's hard to believe that the Financial sector has had most of its best one-day performances since 1990 during 2008.  But as shown in the chart below, seven of the ten best days for the sector (red dots) have come during 2008.

click to enlarge

Financial_sector_19902008

If this story sounds familiar, it's because we experienced a similar situation eight years ago with the Tech sector.  As shown below, the Technology sector had nine of its ten best one-day gains during the bear market of 2000-2002. 

There's a reason they say big days come in bad markets.  When the dust settled in tech stocks, they had lost 82% of their value over a stretch of 132 weeks.  This makes the current decline of 42% over a 75-week period for Financial stocks seem downright tame.

Does that mean the Financials have further to fall?  While they may go lower, given the fact that the rally in Financials was more subdued than what we saw in tech stocks, the final declines in the Financial sector are likewise not likely to be as severe. 

Technology_sector_19902008

              Ten_best_day_financial_and_techno_3

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This article has 2 comments:

  •  
    Depends on your perspective doesn't it. While the tech stocks fell to levels that were seen 6 years ago, the financials are down to levels not seen for 10 years.
    2008 Aug 01 09:40 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    I'll just watch while you throw the dice.

    Most folks don't have the motivation to gamble in banks right now.

    When you consider that there are a lot of retired people who require income from social security and investments to pay their bills, it is a shame to see firms in the financial industry doing so badly.

    The mess that the US is in is a bad mark on our country. With all the colleges we have in this country; we still have a lot of stupid people.
    2008 Aug 04 04:59 AM | Link | Reply
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