The US markets opened sharply lower on March 12 with the Dow Industrial Average shedding 1,700 points to 21,804 at open.
With nearly 20 percent wiped from the recent highs (not including today's fall), the Dow Jones has entered into a technical bear phase.
The S&P 500 index dropped 183 points at 2,558 and Nasdaq was at 7,428.34, down 523 points. With this, even the S&P 500 has joined DJI in the bear market territory.
S&P 500 was trading at lower than 7 percent, triggering a level 1 circuit breaker. for the US indices. Following this, trading on the US markets was halted for 15 minutes. This is the second time this week that the stock indices have hit lower circuit.
After the rebound on March 10 amid hopes of announcement of fiscal stimulus for Wall Street by US President Donald Trump, the markets tanked again a day later. However, while Trump did meet with fellow Republican senators on March 10, no concrete measures were announced.
Major US stock market indices also plunged further after the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic yesterday.
Governments across the world have been scrambling to find ways to contain the spread of the infection, while central banks are looking at measures to cushion the economic fallout of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Bank of England was the latest central bank to announce a rate cut, and there are expectations that the US Federal Reserve may slash interest rates for the second time this month.
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