/biz/ - Business & Finance

>Selling in NYSE-listed stocks on Wednesday morning were exhibiting panic-like tendencies, according to the Arms Index, while Nasdaq selling appears to indicating panic-buying attributes. The Arms, a volume-weighted market breadth indicator, usually rises when the stock market declines, the magnitude of selling in declining stocks tends to be greater than the magnitude of buying in stocks gaining ground. When that happens, the Arms Index tends to rise above 1.000; market technicians view a rise above 2.000 as suggesting panic-like activity. The NYSE Arms index on early Wednesday was at 2.110, while the Nasdaq Arms index was below 0.500, which is usually a level considered by market technicians that suggests panic buying attributes. The Arms index levels comes as the Dow Jones Industrial AverageDJIAwas down 4530 points, or 1.7%, at 25,724, the S&P 500 indexSPXwas down 1.5% at 3,084, while the Nasdaq Composite IndexCOMPwas falling 1.2% at 10,000, despite the Arms index's indication of panic buying. The Nasdaq is on an eight-day win streak and posted its second straight record close on Tuesday and investors have expressed concerns that gains are creating a widening chasm between technology-related stocks that have been boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the broader market