The Sell Off Is Just Beginning And The Bear Market Is On Its Way

The most dreaded phrase on Wall Street is now being tossed around: bear market. Joshua Mahony, a market analyst at IG, based in London, thinks stocks are headed for bear market territory, defined as at least a 20 percent drop from their most recent high. ‘I think this is just the beginning of the sell off that we’re seeing,’ he said. ‘Quite frankly, no one knows how far [the selling] is going to go and no one even knows why [investors] are selling.' The three major U.S. indexes entered correction territory on Wednesday. The broad S&P 500 fell below the critical 1,900 level and currently stands at 1,885. If the S&P 500 tests its August 2015 low of 1,867, the index would fall another 1 percent. Mahony said he wouldn’t be making any long positions. ‘The trend at the moment is clearly towards the downside,’ he said. TheStreet’s Scott Gamm has more from Wall Street.