Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., December 10, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Hurt by worries about global growth, the S&P 500 on Monday fell as much as 1.89 percent before reversing course and ending the session with a 0.17 percent gain, trimming its loss so far in December to 4.44 percent. The S&P 500 index has been in a correction since October, defined by many investors as a drop of 10 percent or more from a high. It has not crossed the 20 percent threshold, widely viewed as the definition of a bear market.
However, 245 stocks in the S&P 500 - 49 percent of its components - on Monday had fallen 20 percent or more from their 52-week highs. Another 127 S&P 500 stocks had fallen 10 percent or more from their 52-week highs, but less than 20 percent. (Graphic: Half of S&P 500 stocks in bear market - ) The index on Monday was down about 11 percent from its Sept. 20 record high close. Apple Inc ( ), until recently Wall Street’s most valuable company and the largest component of the S&P 500, has declined 27 percent from its record high on Oct.