Stock market: Highest number of Down days since October 2008 this month

The Dow and the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.66%  both wiped out all their hard-fought gains over the past 10 months to turn negative for 2018. The S&P 500 is down 0.6% year to date, while the Dow is off 0.1%.

So, what happened?

The return of volatility

Well, investors have grown all-too comfortable with a market that has merely churned higher as it did in 2017, producing boffo returns without a significant bump lower.

Market pragmatists and technicians say those days were statistical anomalies to start and have come to a natural conclusion. And October, an already seasonally volatile month, has delivered the clearest sign so far that the old quiescent regime is over.

Indeed, the S&P 500 has had 15 down days so far in October, representing the highest number of losing days for the broad-market benchmark since October of 2008 when it fell 16 days, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Another down day for the month and it will mark its highest number of down days since April of 1970.

end partial quote of:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-the-dow-tumbled-600-points-and-the-nasdaq-fell-into-correction-territory-for-the-first-time-in-2-years-2018-10-24

You don't need any further warnings than to realize the 15 down days this October are ONLY matched by what happened in October 2008 when the market crashed then bringing on the Great Recession then. Since the above article was written around 8 am this morning it is likely that we now have 16 down days this month now as of late on the 29th or early on the 30th after midnight the night of the 29th. So, it is likely we have now matched what brought on the Great Recession in Fall 2008 today.