Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, the United States, March 12, 2020. Intensifying coronavirus fears battered Wall Street on Thursday with a historic nosedive in its worst session since the 1987 market crash. The Dow slumped more than 2,300 points, or about 10 percent, at the close, notching its biggest one-day percentage drop since the 1987 Black Monday market crash, when it collapsed by more than 22 percent. (Xinhua)
NEW YORK, March 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks extended losses on Thursday as panic sell-off accelerated amid escalating coronavirus fears.
The S&P 500 declined 7 percent shortly after the opening bell, triggering a key circuit breaker that halted trading for 15 minutes. It was Wall Street's second 15-minute halt this week.
Wild trading intensified around midday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 2,249.94 points, or 9.55 percent, to 21.303.28. The S&P 500 decreased 239.31 points, or 8.73 percent, to 2,502.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 785.61 points, or 8.62 percent, to 7,266.44.
The Cboe Volatility Index, widely considered as the best fear gauge in the stock market, jumped to 67.20.
Fears that the continued spread of the virus would slow economic growth gripped investors and the markets were expecting effective measures from Washington to cushion the potential damages.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday night the country would suspend all travel from European countries except Britain for 30 days in a bid to fight the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
On Wednesday, the president also said he would direct the Treasury Department to "defer tax payments, without interest or penalties, for certain individuals and businesses negatively impacted," beyond the April 15 filing deadline, in an attempt to provide more liquidity to the economy.
But the move failed to calm markets over a possible economic slowdown from the coronavirus, according to experts.
"Currently, the virus remains uncontained in Europe and the United States, and, although we have seen some stimulus measures from policymakers, it is unclear if it will prove comprehensive enough to mitigate the economic damage arising from coronavirus containment measures," analysts at UBS said in a note on Thursday.
Trump's remarks came as the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.
As of Wednesday night, there were over 1,300 confirmed cases and 38 deaths in the United States, according to a tracking tool developed by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Thursday's market movement followed a rout in the previous session, with the 30-stock Dow index slumping more than 1,400 points to end in bear market territory, down more than 20 percent from last month's record close.
Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, the United States, March 12, 2020. Intensifying coronavirus fears battered Wall Street on Thursday with a historic nosedive in its worst session since the 1987 market crash. The Dow slumped more than 2,300 points, or about 10 percent, at the close, notching its biggest one-day percentage drop since the 1987 Black Monday market crash, when it collapsed by more than 22 percent. (Xinhua)
Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, the United States, March 12, 2020. Intensifying coronavirus fears battered Wall Street on Thursday with a historic nosedive in its worst session since the 1987 market crash. The Dow slumped more than 2,300 points, or about 10 percent, at the close, notching its biggest one-day percentage drop since the 1987 Black Monday market crash, when it collapsed by more than 22 percent. (Xinhua)
