Its safe to say that the markets have reached a point where no one can avoid the pain. After Fridays strong selloff the markets started the week duplicating last weeks performance. The sell off continues to be be vicious to the downside with little remorse. Short term traders will note the severe over extension and the strong likelihood of a relief bounce.All 10 sectors were red today and all major indices were lower. The Dow finished off 176 points (-1.09%), the S&P 500 shaved another 26 points (-1.41%), and the Nasdaq was hit the worst again with an 80 point decline (-1.82%). There were many names in the news today. Below are some of the standouts.Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK), the second-largest natural gas producer in the United States, plunged 33% at the opening bell following reports that the company has hired a restructuring law firm. This is just the beginning of what many analysts expect to be a very rough ride for oil stocks as company's struggle to come to grips with the consistent slide in oil. The stock was halted three times in early trading. Chesapeake is scheduled to disclose fourth-quarter and full-year 2015 results on February 24th.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) continues to find weakness as investors become more concerned about late deliveries, production capacity, and increased competition. Shares of Tesla lost 8.99% today as Morgan Stanley noted that the electric car maker is "at a crossroads as it faces engineering challenges with the Model X". The company is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results after the bell on Wednesday. According to Wall Street analysts, Tesla is expected to post an operating profit of $0.16 a share on revenue of $1.85 billion. Technical traders will note the waterfall drop on the short term for the car maker and will be watching for a buying opportunity after earnings.
Lastly, It's a great day for gold stocks as investors continue to flock to the "safe haven" trade. Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC) is one such name making headlines today, gaining 6.09% after the company was upgraded to "outperform" from "market perform" by BMO Capital. BMO noted the gold-mining company "trades at a discount to its peers and is planning to expand", which could be a positive move for the stock. Technical traders will note the over-extension in gold and gold mining stocks in the short term and refrain from a new entry here.