U.S. shows signs of panic over coronavirus
Wall Street’s main indexes plunged on Thursday for the sixth straight session, with the S&P 500 confirming its fastest correction in history as the rapid global spread of coronavirus intensified worries about economic growth.
The S&P 500 finished 12 per cent below its Feb. 19 record close, marking its fastest correction ever in just six trading days. The previous record was nine days in early 2018, according to S&P Dow Jones
Indices analyst Howard Silverblatt.
The Dow registered a record oneday points drop, which was also its fourth 1,000-point decline in history and the second this week.
All three major U.S. indexes were also on track for their steepest weekly pullback since the global financial crisis, as new infections reported around the world surpassed those in mainland China.
Governments battling the epidemic from Iran to Australia shut schools, cancelled big events and stocked up on medical supplies.
While selling eased for a while during the session, the S&P’S losses deepened rapidly in the last hour of trading to end at a session low, registering its biggest one-day percentage loss since Aug. 18, 2011.
“The path of this scourge is unknown, therefore you can’t know the economic impact. You can roll the dice but it’s a guess,” said Brian Battle, director of trading at Performance Trust Capital Partners in Chicago.
But Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at Oakbrook Investments
LLC in Lisle, Ill., urged some caution.
“People have gone from saying this is a non-event to saying this is the end of the world. There’s room for a middle ground,” said Jankovskis, who suggested opting for defensive bets. “The virus will spread somewhat but it doesn’t mean that it’ll make the entire world grind to a halt.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,190.95 points, or 4.42 per cent, to 25,766.64, the S&P 500 lost 137.63 points, or 4.42 per cent, to 2,978.76 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 414.30 points, or 4.61 per cent, to 8,566.48.