Stocks In Free-fall: Dow Plummets Over 1,000 Points As Coronavirus Tightens Grip

Jim Zarroli

February 28, 2020 / 6:15 am

caption: A pedestrian walks past an electronic board displaying the closing figure of the Nikkei Stock Average in Tokyo on Friday. The Nikkei 225 dropped 3.67% on Friday as a growing number of events and sporting fixtures are being cancelled or postponed around Japan while some businesses are closing or asking their employees or work from home due to the coronavirus.

Updated at 10 am

U.S. stocks plunged as soon as the market opened, deepening a multi-day rout fueled by fears about the coronavirus's impact on the global economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which fell by 1,190 points on Thursday, lost 1000 points within the first 30 minutes of the market open. The S&P500 stock index lost another 3% Friday morning and is now down 14 percent from the all-time high it reached only last week.

Around the world, stocks also fell, with Asian stock indexes down more than 3%. Markets also finished significantly lower in Frankfurt and London.

The interest rate on U.S. government debt also fell further, with the 10-year Treasury bill dipping to a record low of 1.15%.

The past week has seen a sudden, dizzying drop in stock prices, as investors grapple with growing evidence that the deadly coronavirus epidemic is spreading well beyond China.

South Korea and Italy have seen significant clusters of cases, and many more, including the United States, are reporting new outbreaks.

With the S&P500 index down 14% from the high it reached just last week, on Feb. 19th, the market is officially in what Wall Street calls a market correction.

All three major stock indexes posted their largest-ever point drops on Thursday.

Companies around the world are cutting production and canceling conferences to limit the outbreak's spread. J.P. Morgan Chase announced it is eliminating non-essential employee travel, while United Airlines said today it is reducing flights to Japan, Singapore and South Korea.

As businesses slows down, economists say the odds of a global recession have increased significantly.

"With the coronavirus pandemic spreading throughout the world, falling corporate sales and its economic impact will depress economic growth," wrote Sung Won Sohn, professor of economics at Loyola Marymouth University. [Copyright 2020 NPR]