U.S. stocks fell Friday despite ongoing measures to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, capping off the worst week for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 since October 2008, the Wall Street Journal reported.
As of Sunday afternoon, more than 33,000 Americans had been sickened by the virus, and more than 315 had died, according to a Johns Hopkins University map.
Major indexes opened higher Friday but pulled back after several states, including New York, California and Illinois, ordered residents to stay home. Stocks sank further after the Trump administration said U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada would be closed to nonessential travel.
Lawmakers continued Sunday to negotiate on a more than $1 trillion economic stabilization package to aid families and businesses devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Many analysts and investors say it could still get much worse for global markets, because it is too early to assess the possible scale of economic damage from the coronavirus.In just a few weeks, U.S. stocks have lost roughly a third of their value. In recent weeks, pandemic panic even has led investors to flee typically safe assets such as U.S. government bonds and gold, which often do well during times of turmoil.
