RPT - US Stocks Plunge 2nd Day In Row As Americans Told To Brace For More Coronavirus Cases

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2020) Stocks on Wall Street plunged again for their biggest two-day decline since 2018 as US officials warned that the spread of the coronavirus contagion might be inevitable in the world's largest economy.

All three of Wall Street's major stock indexes - the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite - fell about 3 percent each for a second day in a row on Tuesday, the first time since February 8, 2018.

Analysts warned that coronavirus concerns may prevent the market from bouncing back quickly.

"Risk aversion could easily remain in place over the next couple weeks on pandemic fears and investors may choose to wait to see if the selloff hits the 10 percent or 15 percent threshold, before jumping back in," said Ed Moya, equities analyst at OANDA in New York.

At the close, the Dow, Wall Street's broadest index, fell 3.2 percent to 27,081.

The S&P 500 index, which reflects the performance of the top 500 US stocks, tumbled 3 percent to 3,128.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 2.8 percent to 8,966.

Tuesday's slump in stocks came as US health officials and lawmakers said they expected more coronavirus cases in the world's largest economy, and the spread of the disease might even be inevitable, as the Trump administration asked Congress for $2.5 billion in funding to fight the contagion.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States had risen to 53, from 14 earlier this month. The coronavirus has so far infected more than 80,000 people globally, and killed at least 2,700, mostly in China.