Markets slide amid virus fears, restrictions

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 943 points Wednesday as surging coronavirus cases forced more shutdown measures in Europe and raised fears of more restrictions in the United States.

The S&P 500 slid 3.5%, its third consecutive loss and its biggest drop since June. The benchmark index is already down 5.6% this week, on track for its biggest weekly decline since March. That’s when the market was in the midst of selling off as strict lockdowns around the world choked the economy into recession.

Investors are growing increasingly anxious that the economy will lose momentum should more shutdowns be imposed just as prospects for more economic support from Washington have dwindled as Election Day nears.

The S&P 500 lost 119.65 points to 3,271.03. The Dow lost 943.24 points, or 3.4%, to 26,519.95. The Nasdaq composite slumped 426.48 points, or 3.7%, to 11,004.87. Theselling was widespread, and 96% of stocks in the S&P 500 fell.

Crude oil tumbled on worries that an economy already weakened by the virus would consume even less energy and allow excess supplies to build higher. Benchmark U.S. crude dropped 5.7% to $37.39 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 5.4% to $39.12 per barrel. Instead, investors headed into the safety of U.S. government bonds. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 0.77% from 0.79% late Tuesday. It was as high as 0.87% last week.

A measure of fear in the stock market touched its highest level since June, when the market tumbled amid concerns that a second wave of coronavirus infections had arrived.

The VIX measures how much volatility investors expect from the S&P 500, and it climbed 20.8% Wednesday.