Obama Wins; Investors Lose (Billions)

Following, an optimism-fueled Election Day rally on Tuesday, the stock market plunged on Wednesday after Pres. Barack Obama defeated former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney to win a second term. FOX Business Network's Adam Samson reports:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 313 points, or 2.4%, to 12933, the S&P 500 slid 33.9 points, or 2.4%, to 1395 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 74.6 points, or 2.5%, to 2937.

The selloff was broad, with every major sector falling at least 1%. Leading the way lower were financial and energy stocks. The Dow closed below the 13000 mark for the first time since August 2.

In contrast to most one-day selloffs that are followed by a surge the next day, Wednesday's decline continued yesterday, with the Dow sinking another 121.41 points, for a combined 3.3% drop over the last two days. The S&P 500 fell by 17.02 to close at 1,377.51 (it's lowest close since August), and the Nasdaq composite index gave back another 41.71 points.

Is this the beginning of a bear market or just a correction? Whichever is the case, not all of it can fairly be attributed to the president's re-election, but the billions of dollars investors lost this week will be sand off a beach if this country goes off the fiscal cliff. Judging from the tone of President Obama's speech today, he's willing to let that happen.