Stocks Hammered, Dow Drops To Lowest Since February 2017

Nearly all of the Trump stock market boom has now fallen victim to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,338.46 points, around 6.3 percent, to 19,898.92. That is the first close below 20,000 since February 2017. The Dow was even lower earlier in the day, at one point falling to levels unseen since December 2016.

The S&P 500 fell 5.2 percent. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.7 percent. The small cap Russell 2000 was smashed with a 10.42 percent decline, highlighting just how devastating investors think the coronavirus and social distancing will be to smaller businesses.

Unlike Tuesday, when stocks rallied during a White House press conference announcing economic rescue measures, Wednesday’s sell-off accelerated during the now daily coronavrius press conference. The selling pressure created a new worry: what if the White House can no longer calm markets? A spiral of negativity.

The bond market also sold off, marking the first time in a while that bond yields have moved up while stock prices crashed. That could reflect a view that investors believe the rescue package will be effective, leading interest rates higher in the future. A more conventional view, however, would see the results as merely an reaction to the news of huge spending plans that a certain to push up debt levels.