Sell-Off
a.k.a. Selloff
A sharp, fast drop in price as lots of people sell at once.
In plain English
A sharp, fast drop in price as lots of people sell at once.
A sell-off is the market heading for the exits. Bad news, a scary headline or a broken support level triggers selling, which triggers stop-losses, which triggers more selling. Prices slide, or fall off a cliff, depending on how crowded the trade was.
Sell-offs often overshoot as fear takes over, which is why some traders wait for the panic to burn out rather than selling into it. The opposite is a rally.
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