(Reuters) - The Dow Jones Industrials slumped more than 1,000 points in intraday trading for the third time this week on Friday, as the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak raised fears of global recession.
Over the week, virus fears have wiped nearly $3 trillion off the combined market value of S&P 500 companies, putting the three main indexes on track their worst week since the 2008 global financial crisis.
As the world prepares for a likely pandemic, investors rushed to safe assets, deepening an inversion of the U.S. Treasury yield curve, a classic recession signal. [US/]
The benchmark S&P 500 fell about 12% from its record closing high hit last week, confirming its fastest correction in history on Thursday.
At 10:03 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,058.08 points, or 4.11%, at 24,708.56, the S&P 500 was down 118.91 points, or 3.99%, at 2,859.85. The Nasdaq Composite was down 293.97 points, or 3.43%, at 8,272.51.
All the 11 S&P sectors shed at least 2% and the defensive utilities, consumer staples and real estate sectors dropped more than 3%. The three sectors have outperformed the benchmark index this month.
“This selling is a bit extreme for something that we don’t know enough about,” said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist at SlateStone Wealth LLC in New York.
“What I do know is that the coronavirus is not going to lead us into a financial crisis that is long lasting. It could put us in a technical recession, but the real concern is does that recession cause the U.S. consumer to pare
