The stock market is on track for its worst December since the Great Depression


Stocks fell across the board again Monday, and they show no sign of recovering before the holidays.
As markets closed Monday, the S&P 500 showed a 2.08 percent loss for the day, marking its lowest level since October 2017, per The New York Times. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.27 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw another 507-point loss for the day, solidifying its worst month since May 2010, CNBC's Carl Quintanilla says.
Markets have suffered volatile declines for the past month, despite a "Santa Claus" rally typically propelling stocks upward at the end of the year, Yahoo News says. This year, it seems fears of a Federal Reserve rate hike later this week has ensured stocks remain on their downward trend. News that a federal judge ruled the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional last week also led to uncertainty within the health care sector, per The Washington Post. Tech and energy stocks also fell on Monday amid major sell-offs.
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If this downward trend continues, the S&P and Dow will have their worst December performances since the Great Depression, CNBC projects. Experts say there's still time for a year-end rally, so long as the Federal Reserve pulls through with a market-boosting announcement this week.
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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