by Motley Fool Staff May 7, 2010
On Thursday, the market briefly lost its mind. Some combination of an erroneous trade and massive amounts of computer algorithms sent stocks plunging -- the Dow fell nearly 1,000 points at one point … before rocketing right on back. For the day, the major indices were off about 3%.
The NYSE and Nasdaq have canceled trades of 296 companies from Thursday, including Accenture and Boston Beer, which both fell all the way to $0.01 at one point.
Here at the Fool, we're using May 6 as a reminder to focus on the long term -- because sometimes the daily machinations of the stock market aren't tied to the underlying value of the businesses.
If you missed what happened, here's a roundup with news, commentary, and analysis:
In review
- What conclusions can we take from Thursday's activity? What You Should Learn From Yesterday's Crash
- Fool.com editor Eric Bleeker asks what we're all thinking: What the ---? Examining May's Market Meltdown
Collateral damage
- Some brokers were reportedly down during the key span of Thursday's trading. We talked to the major firms to see how they fared? Did Your Broker Made the Grade Yesterday?
- More on the computers behind the auto-panic-selling: Surge of Computer Selling After Apparent Glitch Sends Stocks Plunging (via New York Times)
Community take
News from the Associated Press
The May 6 Meltdown. What Happened?
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