Bizarre: DOW plummets 220 points and turns negative in the last 60 minutes of trading – again

Stocks were higher at the open. But from the start of the U.S. session, stocks had a difficult time holding onto early gains.

Before markets opened the ADP Non-Farm Employment report showed that 20.2 million jobs were lost last month in the private sector. But on the bright side, the forecast was 20.5 million jobs lost.

After the higher start, the major indices slide. And the S&P dropped 1.0% to quickly turn negative.

There was a bounce late morning and a push to positive territory. Then stocks were sideways for most of the day.

But in a move eerily similar to yesterday, stocks slide into the close and finished the day near session lows. In fact, in the last hour alone the DOW slide 220 points to turn negative.

In the end stocks were mixed, with the S&P and DOW negative and the NASDAQ managing to end the day positive.

Here’s where the major indices ended the day:

• The S&P finished with a 0.7% loss. Down 20 points, the S&P ended at 2,848.
• The DOW ended 0.9% lower. Dropping 218 points the DOW closed at 23,665.
• The NASDAQ was up 0.5%. With a 45 point gain the NASDAQ finished at 8,854.

Crude Oil (CL) snapped a 5-day winning streak. With a 2.5% loss, Crude Oil ended the day at $23.95 a barrel.

FAANG stocks helped drive the NASDAQ higher while the rest of the market dropped.

Facebook (FB) finished higher by 0.7%, Amazon (AMZN) was up 1.4%, Apple (AAPL) rallied 1.0%, and Netflix (NFLX) was up 2.3%. But Alphabet (GOOGL) was the standout of the group, down 0.3%.

Occidental Petroleum (OXY) was an energy loser, dropping 12.5% after disappointing earnings.