Wall Street Tumbles, Dow Confirms Bear Market

Wall Street stocks plunged on Wednesday, with the Dow <.DJI> confirming a bear market for the first time since the financial crisis after the World Health Organization called the 🦠Coronavirus Outbreak a pandemic.

All three major U.S. stock averages ended the session sharply lower, with the benchmark S&P 500 <.SPX> and Nasdaq composite index <.IXIC> both about 19% below their Feb. 19 record closing highs.

A bear market is confirmed when an index closes 20% or more below its most recent closing high.

Market participants were further rattled following a Reuters report that the White House had ordered top-level coronavirus meetings to be classified.

“There’s just a plethora of bad news today, a growing number of people with the disease, there are different points of view in how stimulus should work, and the market is acting accordingly,” said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“You call this thing a pandemic and all hell breaks loose.”

A lack of details from the Trump administration regarding its plans for fiscal stimulus, and partisan wrangling in Washington, added further unknowns to the mix.

“Fiscal help may be slow in coming, because of differences between the president and Congress on what form it should take,” added Tuz.

Boeing Co <BA.N> was the biggest drag on the blue-chip Dow, sinking 18.2% after announcing plans for a full drawdown of an existing $13.8 billion loan as early as Friday. The planemaker suffered its biggest ever three-day fall, surpassing the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Stocks worldwide lost ground despite global stimulus efforts to soften the economic blow of the virus, named COVID-19, with Britain and Italy announcing war chests to contend with the growing crisis.