(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Dow drops 1,000 points third time this week
* Financials lead losses among S&P sectors
* Mylan slumps after warning of financial hit from outbreak
* Indexes down: Dow 1.91%, S&P 1.38%, Nasdaq 0.69%
(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh
Feb 28 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were on track
for their worst week since the 2008 global financial crisis on
Friday as the selloff deepened on fears that the fast-spreading
coronavirus could lead to a recession.
As the world prepares for a likely pandemic, investors
dumped equities and moved to the safety of U.S. Treasuries.
Traders increasingly pricing in an interest rate cut by the
Federal Reserve in March sent the yield on the two-year note
US2YT=RR below 1% for the first time since 2016.
US/ Rate-sensitive banks .SPXBK dropped 4.1% and weighed the
most on the benchmark S&P 500 index. Financials .SPSY fell
3.6% and was the top loser among the 11 S&P sectors.
The Dow Jones Industrials .DJI slumped more than 1,000
points in a volatile session and if the index closes below this
level, it would be its fifth 1,000-point decline in history and
the third this week.
The three indexes closed more than 10% below their recent
record closing highs on Thursday.
"The uncertainty hovering over the markets will only be
alleviated when there is a sense that the worst is almost over,"
said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential
Financial Inc. "Until then it is risk off."
At 1:36 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 493.38 points, or 1.91%, at 25,273.26 and the S&P 500
.SPX was down 41.04 points, or 1.38%, at 2,937.72. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 58.87 points, or 0.69%, at 8,507.61.
Losses on the Nasdaq were limited by gains in technology
companies including Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and Adobe ADBE.O .
"Some investors are taking this as an opportunity to buy the
dip," said Ryan Nauman, market strategist at Informa Financial
Intelligence in Zephyr Cove, Nevada.
All the 11 S&P sectors were in the red with the utilities
.SPLRCU , consumer staples .SPLRCS and real estate .SPLRCR
and financial .SPSY sectors falling more than 3%.
In company news, Mylan NV MYL.O dropped 7.7% after the
drugmaker cautioned a financial hit from the coronavirus
outbreak and warned of drug shortages in case of continued
spread of the virus. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 6.17-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 3.06-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded no new 52-week highs and 127 new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 14 new highs and 476 new lows.