Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street Wednesday, lopping 5.9% off the Dow Jones Industrial Average and bringing the index into a bear market.
The more widely followed S&P 500 is within one percentage point of a bear market, which would mark the end of one of Wall Street’s greatest eras.
Investors are looking for a more aggressive response from the U.S. government to economic fallout from the coronavirus. Stock losses accelerated after health authorities declared the outbreak a pandemic.
On Wednesday:
The S&P 500 index fell 140.85 points, or 4.9%, to 2,741.38.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,464.94 points, or 5.9%, to 23,553.22.
The Nasdaq lost 392.20 points, or 4.7%, to 7,952.05.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks fell 86.60 points, or 6.4%, to 1,264.30.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is down 230.99 points, or 7.8%.
The Dow is down 2,311.56 points, or 8.9%.
The Nasdaq is down 623.57 points, or 7.3%.
The Russell 2000 is down 184.92 points, or 12.8%.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is down 489.40 points, or 15.1%.
The Dow is down 4,985.22 points, or 17.5%.
The Nasdaq is down 1,020.55 points, or 11.4%.
The Russell 2000 is down 404.17 points, or 24.2%.
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