Fed Governor Cook sues Trump over firing attempt
(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window)
* White House orders coronavirus meetings classified
* Boeing sees biggest-ever 3-day drop
* Rate-sensitive U.S. banks tumble
* Indexes down: Dow 5.86%, S&P 4.89%, Nasdaq 4.70%
(Updates to market close)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks plunged on
Wednesday, with the Dow .DJI confirming a bear market for the
first time since the financial crisis after the World Health
Organization called the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.
All three major U.S. stock averages ended the session
sharply lower, with the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX and Nasdaq
composite index .IXIC both about 19% below their Feb. 19
record closing highs.
A bear market is confirmed when an index closes 20% or more
below its most recent closing high.
Market participants were further rattled following a Reuters
report that the White House had ordered top-level coronavirus
meetings to be classified. "There's just a plethora of bad news today, a growing number
of people with the disease, there are different points of view
in how stimulus should work, and the market is acting
accordingly," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment
Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia.
"You call this thing a pandemic and all hell breaks loose."
A lack of details from the Trump administration regarding
its plans for fiscal stimulus, and partisan wrangling in
Washington, added further unknowns to the mix. "Fiscal help may be slow in coming, because of differences
between the president and Congress on what form it should take,"
added Tuz.
Boeing Co BA.N was the biggest drag on the blue-chip Dow,
sinking 18.2% after announcing plans for a full drawdown of an
existing $13.8 billion loan as early as Friday. The planemaker
suffered its biggest ever three-day fall, surpassing the
aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Stocks worldwide lost ground despite global stimulus efforts
to soften the economic blow of the virus, named COVID-19, with
Britain and Italy announcing war chests to contend with the
growing crisis. Concerns over the fast-spreading virus have ravaged markets
and hobbled supply chains as countries around the world grapple
with how to contain both the virus and its economic impact.
As part of those efforts, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely
expected to cut interest rates for a second time this month at
the conclusion of a two-day monetary policy meeting next week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 1,464.94
points, or 5.86%, to 23,553.22, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 140.85
points, or 4.89%, to 2,741.38 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC
dropped 392.20 points, or 4.7%, to 7,952.05.
All 11 major sectors in the S&P 500 ended the session
sharply lower.
Rate-sensitive banking stocks .SPXBK were down 5.9% as
U.S. Treasury yields dropped. Nike Inc NKE.N fell 4.9% on fears of virus-related sales
slump in China.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
13.61-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 8.24-to-1 ratio favored
decliners.
The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs, and 131 new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded six new highs and 816 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 15.10 billion shares, compared
with the 11.92 billion average over the last 20 trading days.
S&P 500 sector performance https://tmsnrt.rs/2VPkNLd
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>