Coronavirus: Dow drops more than 900 points, ending worst week since 2008
- Traders in full retreat amid fear that outbreak will plunge US and other major economies into deep recessions
- US crude oil price nosedives, with investors anticipating sharp drop in demand as manufacturing, travel and commerce grind nearly to a halt
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 on Friday as federal and state governments moved to shut down bigger and bigger swathes of the nation’s economy in the hope of limiting the spread of the outbreak.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 913.21 points, ending the week with a 17.3 per cent loss. The index has declined in four of the last five weeks. The S&P 500 fell 104.47 points, or 4.34 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 271.06 points, or 3.79 per cent, to 6,879.52.
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.
Investors are worried that the coronavirus will plunge the US and other major economies into deep recessions. Steps to contain the spread of the outbreak are causing massive disruptions and lay-offs.
Optimism that emergency actions by central banks and governments to ease the economic damage has waned as investors wait for the Trump administration to deliver on legislation that will pump billions of dollars into hurting households and industries.