Monday was an ugly day on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined an eye-popping 1,175 points in the largest single-day point loss in history.
The broader S&P 500 index declined 4.1%, continuing a rout of stocks that began last week, when the government had the audacity to report wage growth and 200,000 more jobs. In just two days of trading, U.S. stocks lost all of their gains for the year.
In that sense, restaurant stocks actually performed better than the broader market, though that is cold comfort. The S&P 500 Restaurant Index declined nearly 3%. And since Friday, the index is down 4%.
Stocks plunged in early morning trading on Tuesday before recovering to be up by mid-morning. Restaurant stocks were up 2% as of 10:30 a.m. EST.
Almost every restaurant stock declined on Monday, except for two: Noodles & Co., whose stock increased less than 1%, and relative newcomer Fat Brands Inc., the owner of Fatburger, whose stock rose 6%.
For the most part, however, restaurant stocks saw their values plunge amid a major stock selloff.
Papa John’s International stock declined more than 6%. It is now down 8% since Friday morning and, much like the broader market, has lost just about all of its gains for the year. Papa John’s stock had been up 21% on the year as recently as late January but has slumped ever since.
McDonald’s stock declined more than 3% (and was down more than 1% in after-hours trading Monday). It is down 6.5% in the past two days and is down for the year, with most of that value lost since its earnings report last week.
Other notable names among publicly traded stocks on Monday include Chili’s owner Brinker International (down 5%), Bloomin’ Brands (down 4%), Cheesecake Factory (down 4.5%), El Pollo Loco (down 4.3%) and Texas Roadhouse (down 4.25%).
On the other end, Red Robin lost only 0.1%, while Wingstop, Zoes Kitchen and Chuy’s all lost less than 1%.
So what caused the stock market decline? Tom Farley, president of the New York Stock Exchange, said that it was a “crush of selling” in an interview with CNBC.
According to Reuters, concerns about inflation have some traders worried that the Federal Reserve could raise rates four times this year, rather than the previously announced three. Computer models might also be to blame for the selloff, at least according to the Wall Street Journal.
Whatever the reason, the long-running rally among stocks is over.
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