Statewide shutdowns put stocks in retreat

Dow’s 913-point slide caps Wall Street’s worst week since 2008 crisis.

Wall Street ended the week the same way it began: In full retreat from the coronavirus.

Stocks fell sharply and the price of oil sank Friday as federal and state governments moved to shut down bigger and bigger swaths of the nation’s economy in the hope of limiting the spread of the outbreak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid more than 900 points, ending the week with a 17.3% loss. The index has declined in four of the past five weeks.

The latest sell-off wiped out the market’s gains from a day earlier and capped the market’s worst week since the financial crisis of 2008.

“The coronavirus is shutting the economy down,” said Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist at Ally Invest. At the same time, oil prices are being pulled lower by increased supplies at a time when demand is declining.

“This is kind of a double-whammy for the economy,” she said.

Friday’s selling accelerated after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered that most workers stay home. The declaration came a day after California announced similar measures.

Those moves leave restaurants, retailers and other businesses dependent on consumer traffic in economic limbo.

The measures also mean less demand for oil. U.S. crude dropped about 21% and moved below $20 a barrel for first time since February 2002.

The S&P 500, the benchmark for many index funds held in retirement accounts, fell 4.3% after being up 1.8% earlier.

Investors continued to seek safety in U.S. government bonds, driving their yields broadly lower. The 10-year Treasury yield, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans, slid to 0.88% from 1.12% late Thursday.