Major Sell-Off Sweeps Wall Street; Gold Plunges To 2-Year Low

The U.S. stock market plunged on Monday after a disappointing Chinese GDP report sparked fears about slowing global growth.

The fear was evident across asset classes, but the biggest story of the day was a better than 10 percent decline in gold prices -- the worst day for the precious metal since the 1980s. Silver was also hit very hard on the session as heavy selling pushed prices below $23.00.

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recorded losses of better than 2 percent on the day while the Dow was down a little less than 2 percent. The losses across markets also triggered an extreme move in the VIX, with the fear gauged jumping more than 40 percent.

Major Averages
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 267 points, or 1.79 percent, to 14,599.

The S&P 500 fell more than 36 points, or 2.30 percent, to 1,552.

The Nasdaq Composite registered a loss of 73 points, or 2.38 percent, to close at 3,216.

Chinese GDP)
One of the primary catalysts for the sell-off in risk assets on Monday was a Chinese GDP report which showed that the economy grew 7.7 percent in the first-quarter, which was less than the 8 percent that economists had been expecting.

The disappointing figure reverberated across global markets as investors fretted that a slowing Chinese economy will weigh heavily on demand for raw materials and could hurt top-line growth at international corporations with exposure to the country.

Commodities
Crude oil prices plunged on Monday along with the entire commodity complex and the stock market. Near the close of equities, NYMEX crude futures, the U.S. benchmark, had lost around 3 percent to $88.41. Brent crude was last down a little less than 3 percent to $100.22. Natural gas futures had fallen around 1.70 percent to $4.15 in afternoon trade on Monday.

The severe sell-off that started in precious metals last Friday picked up steam to start the trading week. Monday was one of the ugliest days for gold prices in recent memory as the yellow metal has sunk to a 2-year low. Near the close of equity trading, COMEX gold futures were down roughly 9.30 percent and were trading at $1,351.40. Silver futures had plunged 11.50 percent on the session to $23.07. Copper was last down around 2 percent late on Monday.

The entire grain complex was also lower, but the losses were minor compared to other markets. At last check, corn futures were roughly 2 percent lower while wheat had lost nearly 3 percent. In soft commodities, orange juice concentrate futures were up around 3.50 percent while most other markets were only moderately lower.

Bonds
The sell-off in risk assets on the day pushed the prices of U.S. Treasuries higher. Near the close, the iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE: WLT ) continued its steep decline, registering a loss of better than 14 percent on the day.

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BY Scott Rubin

Written By: Benzinga