Stocks - Dow Plunges 3,000 Points, Trump Says Virus Could Last Until August
Investing.com
Published Mar 16, 2020 04:03PM ET
Updated Mar 16, 2020 04:14PM ET
By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The Dow suffered its biggest one-day points plunge ever on Monday and the second-biggest percentage drop as a wave of late selling hit Wall Street after President Donald Trump said the worst of the outbreak could last through the summer and that it was not currently under control.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 12.97%, or 2,997.10 points. The S&P 500 lost 11.98%, and Nasdaq Composite lost 12.32%.
In a blow to hopes the Covid-19 pandemic could be contained sooner rather than later, Trump suggested it could continue into July or August. The president also urged Americans to avoid traveling and gathering in public spaces.
Real Estate and energy led the sea of the red on Wall Street, with latter paced by a 9.5% drop in oil prices on fears of a prolonged slump in travel demand amid the virus outbreak.
Airlines, meanwhile, were given a boost after Trump vowed to "backstop airlines 100%," at a time when the industry has come under siege as travel demand continues to drop.
United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) fell 15% and 6.7% respectively, while American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) surged 11.2%.
Financials were also among the biggest decliners, led by Wall Street banks, several of which detailed plans to scrap share buybacks in order to maintain sufficient capital to keep credit lines open to customers.
Several banks, including Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), temporarily halted buybacks for the remainder of the first quarter and the second quarter of 2020.
In tech, meanwhile, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 13% after the iPhone maker said it would close all of its stores outside of China for the next two weeks to contain the spread of the coronavirus and was hit with a record $1.2 billion fine by French antitrust authorities. Apple and two suppliers were found to have agreed not to compete on prices and distribution.
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