The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down over 1% so far today, with stocks sliding as One Direction member Zayn Malik announced his departure from the group.
The Dow is an antiquated and largely useless price-weighted average of 30 large American companies. It became slightly less useless earlier this month when Apple was added to the index, replacing AT&T.
As you can see below, the Dow began falling prior to the announcement of Zayn's departure, suggesting some traders may have been tipped off early.
One Direction announced Zayn's departure today. Last week, Malik said he was leaving the band's tour due to "stress." Malik had been dogged by rumors that he was cheating on his fiancée Perrie Edwards.
