U.S. Stocks Slide Into a Correction as Virus Fears Show No Sign of Easing

The February market rout deepened Thursday, as major stock indexes around the globe posted another round of significant declines and uncertainty over the impact of the coronavirus began shading into fear.

The Dow industrials tumbled 1,190.95 points, or 4.4%, to 25766.64, bringing its slide this week to more than 3,200 points. The S&P declined 4.4%, extending its six-day decline to more than 10%—the fastest slide of that magnitude off a recent all-time high on record.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite notched their largest one-day percentage declines since August 2011. All three major U.S. indexes posted their biggest one-day point drops ever.

Selling was broad-based, with some energy and technology companies showing especially large declines. Shares that until last week were market highfliers posted double-digit losses, with Tesla sliding 13% and Virgin Galactic shedding 24%. Traders described an atmosphere of apprehension, with many fixating on headlines about the coronavirus epidemic, bracing for a drop in business activity and trying to get a grip on expectations for corporate earnings.

“Obviously it’s a bloodbath,” said David Bahnsen, chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group, a wealth management firm. “When you get into a free-fall mode, there’s really little that can be done but wait for some sort of footing to be found.”