◆ Market free fall continues amid fears of coronavirus.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 879 points Tuesday as investors absorbed increasingly worrisome forecasts about the coronavirus, which is spreading faster and more broadly than thought and is renewing recession anxiety. Tuesday brought the Dow’s two-day swoon to more than 1,900 points — the worst two-day percentage loss in two years.

The blue chip index went into full retreat after health officials warned it was only a matter of time before the deadly virus becomes a public health threat in the United States. In separate briefings, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and other agencies adopted a markedly different tone about the outbreak, emphasizing they no longer viewed its domestic spread in terms of “if ” but rather “when.”

The price of oil also was hit hard, with U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate dipping below $50.

“This is the make-or-break point trying to make a profit in the shale oil patch,” said John Kilduff of Again Capital.

“We are finally starting to see the markets react to the coronavirus,” said Nicole Tanenbaum, chief investment strategist at Chequers Financial Management. “There has been a lot of complacency in the market and a sentiment-driven rally that hasn’t taken into account that this virus may not be as contained as we hoped it would be.”

Tuesday’s slide extended Monday’s dismal finish, which saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed more than 1,000 points in one of the steepest point losses in history. At the market close on Tuesday, the Dow stood at 27,081 after having flirted with 30,000 earlier this month. It has fallen 6.59 percent this week. The broad S&P closed at 3,128, down 3.03 percent on the day and down 6.28 percent over the last two days. The Nasdaq Composite finished the day down 2.77 percent at 8,965.

“Stocks are due for a bumpy ride as the market assesses the growing likelihood of a broad economic downturn,” said Ball State University economist Michael Hicks. “The economic fundamentals of recession in China and the increasing risk of COVID-19 clearly point to more losses. This is not just a few spooked investors.”

Global markets also have trembled as the outbreak intensifies outside of China.

Larry Kudlow, the president’s top economic adviser, said he thinks longterm investors should buy stocks and expressed optimism the Chinese economy could rebound quickly.

“We have contained this. We have contained this. I won’t say airtight, but pretty close to airtight,” Kudlow told CNBC.