US close: Dow suffers worst points loss ever in session of misery

Trading on Wall Street ended in misery on Thursday, as the S&P 500 suffered its worst day since October 1987, and the Dow its largest points loss in history, as consternation around the global Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic raged on.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day down 9.99%, or 2,352.60 points, at 21,200.62, while the S&P 500 lost 9.51% to 2,480.64, and the Nasdaq Composite was 9.43% lower at 7,201.80.

It was the Dow’s worst day since Black Monday in 1987 in terms of percentages, and its worst day ever in terms of points lost, while for the Nasdaq, it was its worst day since the dotcom bubble began to burst in April 2000.

At the open, the Dow was 1,953.25 points lower, after Wednesday's dire session saw the major indices erase all of their gains from Tuesday.

Coronavirus fears continued to roil shares and left the Dow in a bear market at the close on Wednesday - down more than 20% below its record close set only a month earlier and putting to end to a historic 11-year bull market run.

Stocks hit "limit down" at the opening bell following a 5% decline, triggering a halt on all three major US indices for a second time this week - a rule put in place to reduce panic after the previous system failed to prevent the May 2010 'flash' crash.

The losses came after Donald Trump fell short of silencing concerns regarding a possible economic slowdown stemming from the coronavirus during his televised appearance the night before.

The president also revealed that travel from Europe to the US would be suspended for 30 days as part of the White House's response to the pandemic, and vowed to provide financial support to workers who were ill, caring for others due to the virus or in quarantine.

However, market participants were hoping for a more detailed and robust fiscal response to curb potentially slowing economic growth, sending markets into yet another downward spiral, with Trump later saying markets would be "just fine".

“A horrorshow US open turned an already very bad day into the kind of session that could go down as historic, if for all the wrong reasons,” said SpreadEx analyst Connor Campbell earlier in the session.

“It is hard to keep coming up with new metaphors for the scale of disaster facing the global markets.

“Equities are getting crushed underfoot as investors flee to the fire exit, desperately scrambling about for safe havens that feel anything but.”

Also in focus was news that the National Basketball Association had chosen to suspend its season indefinitely after Utah Jazz centre Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus.

On the macro front, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week, according to figures released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

Jobless claims were down 4,000 to 211,000 from the previous week’s level, which was revised lower by 1,000. Economists had expected a level of 218,000.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average came in at 214,000, up 1,250 from the previous week’s level, which was revised down by 250.

In equities, airlines were among the worst performers on the day, with American Airlines Group descending 17.28%, Delta Air Lines down 21.04%, and United Airlines Holdings plunging 24.85%.

Dow Jones - Risers

Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $102.50 -4.66%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $125.30 -4.85%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $74.45 -6.06%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $51.20 -6.62%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $30.02 -6.68%
Visa Inc. (V) $160.08 -7.44%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $76.26 -8.15%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $88.05 -8.24%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $92.26 -8.37%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Boeing Co. (BA) $154.84 -18.11%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $91.81 -12.98%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $102.81 -12.85%
American Express Co. (AXP) $83.53 -12.42%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $150.68 -12.34%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $45.54 -11.85%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $74.20 -11.67%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $37.18 -11.43%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $41.02 -10.96%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $190.59 -10.47%

S&P 500 - Risers

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $11.89 0.76%
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) $72.77 0.00%
SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI) $70.13 0.00%
Cboe Global Markets Inc. (CBOE) $104.20 0.00%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $24.22 0.00%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $108.24 0.00%
L3 Technologies Inc (LLL) $245.17 0.00%
Huntington Ingalls Inds Inc Wi (HII) $176.66 0.00%
Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (CKK) $0.00 0.00%
First Republic Bank (FRC) $87.43 0.00%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $9.65 -35.80%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $30.27 -31.78%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $14.97 -31.17%
Ventas Inc. (VTR) $27.37 -27.90%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $22.89 -27.01%
Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) $23.37 -26.67%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $37.08 -24.85%
Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $35.08 -23.24%
Unum Group (UNM) $13.57 -22.37%
Macy's Inc. (M) $7.38 -22.23%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Celgene Corp. (CELG) $108.24 0.00%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $179.20 0.00%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $44.55 -1.72%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $241.00 -1.86%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $17.26 -3.31%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $55.06 -4.54%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $90.01 -4.66%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $427.54 -5.13%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $33.03 -5.17%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $59.21 -5.25%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.45 -17.28%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $70.35 -15.92%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $68.02 -15.89%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $19.85 -15.82%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $20.06 -15.22%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $65.04 -15.17%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $62.32 -15.10%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $53.79 -14.59%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $45.11 -14.06%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $237.85 -14.02%