Stocks plunge for second day - Dow falls 353

That's the biggest one-day drop since November 9, 2011 - adding to Wednesday's loss of more than 200 points. The ostensible explanation is the Federal Reserve's brighter outlook on the economy, and its noting, however obliquely, that some day it will ease back on its long-running stimulus efforts. (Some investors believe that Wall Street has been propped by the Central Bank.) The pronouncements, such as they were, did not exactly constitute news - the Fed has been telegraphing its intentions for quite a while. No matter, investors decided that now was a good time to sell - as well as a bad time to buy. Margin calls no doubt escalated the slide. Of course, the market has been on a tear for many months, and so it's not surprising that investors would find some reason to pull back. The concern is that this isn't a pause, but an inflection point for further losses. There's little reason to believe we're on that road, though inflection points are never predictive events. You find out when you find out. If you're looking for solace, just know that the Dow still stands at 14,758, up 12.6 percent year to date. Back in January, most everyone would have taken that in a heartbeat.