Major US stock indexes also ended today’s session with severe declines due to fears about the spread of the coronavirus. At the same time, the yields of 10-year US government bonds declined to a record low.

The blue-chip index Dow Jones Industrial Average wiped out 871.11 points, or 3.12%, to 27,089.69 points. The broader benchmark S&P 500 fell by 3.08% to 3,126.52 points, while the Nasdaq Composite technology indicator fell by 2.74% to 8,968.28 points.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2,621 to 280 and 33 ended unchanged. On the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2,354 fell and 336 advanced, while 51 ended unchanged.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 11.27% to 27.85 a new 52-week high.

“Volatility is normal”, says Art Hogan, senior market strategist at National Securities. “What is more frightening is that this particular decline from record highs has been happening so quickly over such a short period of time”, added he.

With today’s lows, Dow Jones and S&P 500 are up more than 7% from their highest levels earlier this month. Nasdaq Composite is 8.2% below its record high, reached on February 19.

Earlier today, US President Donald Trump’s administration asked Congress for 2.5 billion USD to combat the rapidly spreading coronavirus. Over 1 billion USD of that money will be used to develop vaccines. As financial markets report drastic downturns over fears that the virus will have a major impact on the global economy, the Trump administration has shown a willingness to fight the disease, despite the limited numbers infected in the US so far.

The virus has spread to about 29 countries and territories across mainland China, with South Korea, Iran, Italy, and Singapore being the hardest hit.

The yields on the US 10-year government bonds traded at a yield of 1.32%, marking their biggest decline so far, while the 30-year-old Treasuries also hit a record high. This also led to a decline in the value of banks’ shares.

In the foreign exchange trade, the dollar index rose from 0.39% to 98.97 points.

Corporate stocks performance

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2,621 to 280 and 33 ended unchanged. On the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2,354 fell and 336 advanced, while 51 ended unchanged.

The stocks of Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase fell by 4% and 3.5%, respectively, while Citigroup and Wells Fargo’s stock fell 3.6% and 2.4%, respectively.

MasterCard shares fell more than 3% after the company warned that the impact of the coronavirus would affect its financial results for 2020.

Shares of Home Depot fell by almost 1% following early gains in Tuesday’s session after the world’s largest home-improvement retailer beat fourth-quarter earnings and revenue expectations and hiked its dividend by 10%.

Mallinckrodt PLC saw its shares jump 13.9% after the drugmaker announced a settlement agreement that would reserve all opioid-related claims. The company also reported fourth-quarter earnings that topped expectations.

Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc said Tuesday that it swung to a fourth-quarter profit that topped Wall Street expectations. Shares rose by 18.1%.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were HP Inc (+5.66%), Xerox Corp (+4.59%) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (+3.99%), while on the flipside were American Airlines Group (-9.16%), Occidental Petroleum Corporation (-8.33%) and Southwest Airlines Company (-8.22%).