Stocks Crater, Immediately Forcing a Halt in Trading

Dow falls more than 2.2K points
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 16, 2020 8:36 AM CDT
Stocks Crater, Immediately Forcing a Halt in Trading
A trader has his head in his hand on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, March 12, 2020.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Friday's huge surge by the stock market was a distant memory by Monday's opening bell. The stock market cratered in the opening minutes, with the Dow falling more than 2,200 points, or nearly 10%, on coronavirus worries. The benchmark S&P 500 fell by 8% before trading was temporarily halted under "circuit breaker" rules, per CNBC. The steep declines come even after the Fed took the drastic step of reducing interest rates essentially to zero. Instead of buoying investors worried about a recession, the move was largely seen as a "sign of desperation," as one industry analyst tells the Wall Street Journal. Markets in Asia and Europe were in similar straits as health authorities warned people to prepare to hunker down and avoid large gatherings for several weeks. (More stock market stories.)

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