(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Airlines, cruise liners tank on Europe travel restrictions
* Trump's travel curbs send global stocks into bear market
* U.S. stock markets halted for second time this week
* Boeing set for worst week in history
* Indexes sink: Dow 8.84%, S&P 7.98%, Nasdaq 7.75%
(Adds comment, details; Updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Sanjana Shivdas
March 12 (Reuters) - The Dow Jones Industrials index was on
course for its worst day since 1987 as President Donald Trump's
sweeping move to restrict travel from Europe added to growing
signs of corporate distress in the face of the coronavirus
pandemic.
Airline stocks .SPCOMAIR tanked 14.4%, while cruise liners
plummeted between 17% and 23%, as the 30-day travel suspension
from Europe worsened the outlook for a sector already reeling
under business travel and holiday cancellations.
Boeing fell another 13% as J.P.Morgan abandoned its
long-term buy recommendation on the planemaker's shares, a day
after the company signaled major cutbacks and drew on a large
chunk of additional reserve cash.
The stock, one of Wall Street's most influential, has lost
nearly 40% this week alone and the company's recent actions are
symbolic of major U.S. corporations struggling to deal with the
outbreak's financial impact.
"When you reach full-blown panic mode, it takes a lot to
rebuild confidence, and that seems to be where we are headed,"
said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St.
Petersburg, Florida.
"We are expecting (an economic) downturn and there is a lot
of uncertainly out there."
Wall Street's fear gauge .VIX jumped to its highest since
November 2008, as Trump also announced several steps to help
small businesses, but failed to convince traders he would be
able to blunt the virus outbreak's impact on the domestic
economy.
Investors were also unnerved by the absence of targeted
stimulus measures and the lack of details on a public health
response after Trump made no mention of widely expected payroll
tax cuts. The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS crashed into a
bear market in early trading, with all three major U.S. stock
indexes now also more than 20% below their record highs hit in
February. MKTS/GLOB
Trading on Wall Street was halted minutes after the opening
bell with the S&P 500 sliding 7% and triggering a 15-minute
cutout as traders fled to the perceived safety of bonds and the
Japanese yen.
Worries about corporate credit are also heating up as prices
of bond funds take a hit and companies start to draw on credit
lines. Bank stocks .SPXBK dropped 10.5% as Treasury yields
tumbled on expectations of aggressive easing by the Federal
Reserve. US/
At 11:48 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 2,082.63 points, or 8.84%, at 21,470.59, while the S&P
500 .SPX was down 218.65 points, or 7.98%, at 2,522.73. The
Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 616.56 points, or 7.75%, at
7,335.49.
All the S&P sectors were trading were down at least 6%, with
energy .SPNY down nearly 10%.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers almost 27-to-1 on the
NYSE and 19-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded no new 52-week high and 321 new lows,
while the Nasdaq logged one new high and 1,410 new lows.