Saying that the market is manipulated or not is an obvious statement; it is always manipulated or conversely never manipulated. Explaining manipulation as a factor of drops and never of declines is, to say the least, crazy. The current debacle is due to a series of factors: No interest rate cuts from the FED, outrageous tariffs against Canada, China, and Mexico that will also harm the US, causing inflation and unemployment. There are also threats to the EU. An unprecedented cocktail that will provoke a slowdown in international trade and an increase in uncertainties.