Point losses don't make sense because it's percentages that matter. The other metrics you mentioned do suggest this is of course a noteworthy market crash, but whether that becomes a recession or is anything to seriously worry about long run is a different question.
"The S&P 500 fell by 7.7%, blowing through the first circuit-breaker level that it tripped minutes after trading opened for the day. The S&P 500 is on pace for its worst day since December 1, 2008, when stocks fell by just over 9%.
It is superficially "asinine" because it is so narrow. However, the DJIA, S&P, Russell, etc all track/correlate each other.
> Look at any other index instead.
Or better yet, inlay the graphs of DJIA, S&P, Russell, Nasdaq, etc on the same chart for comparison. You'll see that the graphs all look similar. Meaning they all go up and down at around the same times.
It would seem that the broader indexes would better reflect the market as a whole. But in the real world, DJIA does good enough a job as the S&P, Russel, etc for a bird's eye view of the market.
The 19th largest daily percentage loss in the Dow is -7.32%. Today we briefly hit -7.9%.
The 19th largest daily percentage loss in the S&P 500 is -7.18. Today we briefly hit -7.2%.
If you don't classify that as a "crash," then please state your criteria for us to examine. It may not be a major crash, but it's definitely notable.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_daily_changes_...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_daily_changes_...