The broad-based S&P 500 also slumped 4.4% to 2,978.76, its first close below 3,000 since October. And the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 4.6% to end at 8,566.48.
The virus has now spread to 50 countries, with cases confirmed in the last day in the US and Spain that appeared to be contracted locally. The market’s losses have been exacerbated in the US by the lofty valuations that lifted indices to a series of records only weeks ago. The Dow was a sea of red, with 3M the only gainer due to robust demand for face masks to guard against the virus.Markets have been rattled by the prospect that lockdown measures such as those employed in China will become more widespread, denting global growth and producing a “nesting” impulse in the consumer-driven US economy, especially coming at a time when many economies already are fragile.