(Updates prices, adds commentary)
* All S&P sectors lose ground, energy falls most
* Treasury yields hit record low
* Indexes down: Dow 3.15%, S&P 3.03%, Nasdaq 2.77%
By Sinéad Carew
NEW YORK, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The Dow and the S&P 500 tumbled
3% on Tuesday in their fourth straight day of losses as the
coronavirus spread further around the world and investors
offloaded risky assets as they struggled to gauge the economic
impact.
Both averages recorded their biggest four-day percentage
losses since the massive sell-off in December 2018, while U.S.
10-year Treasury yields hit a record low.
The S&P 500 lost $2.138 trillion in market capitalization
over the last four sessions, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices
analyst Howard Silverblatt.
Fears of a pandemic escalated after the coronavirus spread
to Spain and dozens of countries, from South Korea to Italy,
accelerated emergency measures while Iran's virus death toll
rose to 16, the highest outside China. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention said Americans should prepare for possible community
spread of the virus. "The market's realizing that though the pace of the
infections looked like it was slowing, it's still spreading
globally," said Shawn Cruz, manager of trader strategy at TD
Ameritrade in Jersey City, New Jersey.
While investors had hoped the economic impact of the virus
would be contained to the first quarter, Cruz said many are now
estimating that "it's going to have an impact on the first half
of 2020 and probably beyond."
The Nasdaq ended the session 8.7% below its record closing
high, reached last Wednesday, while the S&P finished 7.6% under
its record close achieved the same day. A total 314 of the
benchmark's 500 stocks were in correction territory,
traditionally viewed as a 10% drop from their high.
The Dow ended the day 8.4% below its February 12 record
close.
In the busiest trading day since December 21, 2018, volume
on U.S. exchanges was 12.24 billion shares, compared with the
7.99 billion average for the full session over the last 20
trading days.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI ended down 879.44
points, or 3.15%, at 27,081.36 and the S&P 500 .SPX lost 97.68
points, or 3.03%, to finish at 3,128.21. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 255.67 points, or 2.77%, to 8,965.61.
The Cboe Volatility Index .VIX , known as Wall Street's
fear gauge, climbed above 30 for the first time since December
2018 and closed at 27.85.
The NYSE Arca Airline index closed down 5%, clocking its
biggest three-day decline since October 2011. Delta Airlines Inc
DAL.N , down 6%, said on Tuesday that it expects U.S.-China
flights to be suspended until the end of April and expanded its
travel waiver to Seoul until April 30. The Associated Press reported https://apnews.com/58043910be7bdc6818344bdee2096bc2
that a senior member of the International Olympic Committee
said organizers are more likely to cancel the 2020 Olympics than
to postpone or move them if the coronavirus makes it too
dangerous to hold in Tokyo.
Only 10 S&P stocks advanced on the day, while all of the
S&P's 11 industry sectors fell. The energy sector .SPNY was
the biggest loser, with a more than 4% dip as oil prices
tumbled.
Marriott International MAR.O was the S&P's biggest
percentage decliner, down almost 8%, and other travel stocks
such as Tripadvisor TRIP.O , down 4.7%, and Norwegian Cruise
Line Holdings NCLH.K , down 7.7%, also underperformed sharply.
Mastercard Inc MA.N shares fell 6.7%, also putting it
among the S&P's biggest percentage decliners. HP Inc HPQ.N , the S&P's biggest boost, pared early gains
but still closed up 5.7% after saying it would step up efforts
to slash costs and buy back stock as it sought investor support
to defend against a $35 billion takeover offer from U.S. printer
maker Xerox Holdings Corp XRX.N . Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
7.42-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 6.24-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted four new 52-week highs and 43 new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 28 new highs and 230 new lows.