Stock Market: Worst Christmas Eve ever

(CNBC) U.S. stocks plunged on Monday in their worst day of Christmas Eve trading ever as the S&P 500 entered a bear market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 653 points Monday in volatile trading falling below 22000. The Dow sank more than 2 percent then recovered nearly all of the days losses before again falling more than 2 percent. The S&P 500 fell 2.7 percent slipping into a bear market as it fell 20.06 percent from recent highs. Wall Street traditionally considers a drop of 20 percent or more from recent highs to be a bear market. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 2.2 percent. Markets responded to turmoil in Washington. Multiple reports said President Donald Trump is discussing how to remove Jerome Powell from his position as chairman of the Federal Reserve. That discussion as well as the recent market volatility spurred Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to call the leaders of the six largest U.S. banks over the weekend. Additionally Defense Secretary James Mattis announced he would step down at the end of February saying his views do not align with the presidents.