Dow Plummets Below 20K at the Open

Open down 6%
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 18, 2020 6:26 AM CDT
Updated Mar 18, 2020 8:36 AM CDT
Dow Futures Aren't Painting a Pretty Picture
Specialist Meric Greenbaum works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, March 9, 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 7.8%, its steepest drop since the financial crisis of 2008, as a free-fall in oil prices and worsening fears of fallout from the spreading coronavirus...   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The Dow closed up about 1,000 points on Tuesday, but all of that gain was erased at the open Wednesday. The Dow opened down nearly 1,300 points, or about 6%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were in the same ballpark, both down about 5.5% at the bell. As for the driver, "stimulus firepower fails to impress Wall Street," is how CNN's headline puts it. The AP had predicted a "third day of wild price swings." European indexes are down 3% to 4%. Australia's main index fell 6.4%, the worst showing in the region. The Wall Street Journal reports US crude futures sank 6.7% to $25.21 a barrel, the lowest they've been in almost 17 years. (More stock market stories.)

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