The Dow ended nearly 3,000 points lower on Monday, capping an ugly session for Wall Street that saw circuit breakers temporarily halt trading for 15 minutes, amid rising fears that fresh Federal Reserve stimulus won’t be enough to combat the threat of lost jobs and wages from the coronavirus outbreak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.87% plunged 2,997.10 points, or 12.9%, to settle at 20,188.52, while the S&P 500 index SPX, -1.11% declined 324.89 points, or 12%, to end at 2,386.13, and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -1.07% shed 970.28 points, or 12.3%, to finish at 6,904.59.

A first-level circuit breaker is triggered when the S&P 500 drops by 7%. At that point, stocks see a 15-minute pause. Another halt occurs if stocks fall by 13% on the day. A 20% drop in the S&P 500 would trigger what’s known as a level-three circuit breaker, which would stop trading for the remainder of the session. After 3:25 p.m. Eastern, only the 20% circuit-breaker applies.

On Friday, the Dow soared 1,985 points, or 9.4%, to settle at 23,185.62, while the S&P 500 rose 230.38 points, or 9.3%, to close at 2,711.02. The Nasdaq Composite gained 673.07 points, or 9.4%, to end at 7,874.88.

What drove the market?

President Donald Trump, in a late-afternoon remarks, called on Americans to avoid gatherings of 10 people or more, further unnerving markets already rattled by a lack of clarity on how the government plans to protect U.S. businesses and workers threatened by a near shutdown of the economy due to the coronavirus.

The Fed’s rare Sunday rate cut has done little to encourage the buying mood on Wall Street that has been spooked by the rapid spread of COVID-19, which has infected about 180,000 people globally and claimed more than 7,000 lives, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, as of Monday morning.

Beyond slashing the benchmark federal-funds rates, the Fed rolled out a package of stimulus measures, including the purchase of $700 billion in Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities, cutting the rate charged to banks for short-term emergency loans from its discount window and activating swap lines with the Bank of England, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Canada.

“What the Fed did was heroic,” said Steven Skancke, chief economic adviser at Keel Point, and former economic staffer under the Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan administrations, in an interview with MarketWatch.

“But companies, businesses, and hence the market, are waiting on more information that’s been hinted at by the White House and Congress on what they agreed to last week,” he said in terms of expanding fiscal stimulus to businesses and workers. “They are waiting.”

See: Romney, other lawmakers call for sending $1,000 checks to Americans as part of coronavirus response

Read: Senate seen passing coronavirus bill around midweek, as lawmakers also work more aid

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he would close the nation’s borders to non-citizens, while exempting Americans and permanent residents, who will be required to join returning Canadians to 14 days of self-isolation.

Meanwhile, the head of the International Monetary Fund said Monday that the organization stands ready to mobilize its $1 trillion lending capacity to help countries lessen the blow from the coronavirus pandemic, including offering $50 billion worth of loans to emerging and developing economies. Low income countries can access $10 billion in zero-interest-rate loans.

Some observers argued that while the Fed’s moves were justified, the timing of the announcement ahead of the open of Asian markets late Sunday and in lieu of a policy meeting that had been sent for this week appeared to reflect panic.

“By acting just three days from the scheduled meeting, the Fed has clearly indicated heightened concern of financial market liquidity, but also may be adding to investor concerns rather than having a calming effect,” wrote Steven Oh, global head of credit at PineBridge Investments, in a note Monday.

“With much of the U.S. and global economy grinding to a halt, additional measures will be required to combat the short term economic damage and also to avoid a catastrophic scenario of the virus impact filtering into a financial market crisis akin to the financial crisis.”

Opinion:A feckless Fed, huge deficits and poisonous politics bring us to a crisis, writes Howard Gold

In economic data, the Empire State manufacturing index plunged 34.4 points to a reading of negative 21.5 in March, a record decline.

Meanwhile, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut moved to ban gatherings of more than 50 people by 8 p.m. Eastern time Monday, while ordering bars and restaurants to shift to takeout and delivery services only, preventive measures already taken by some major California cities to help stanch the spread of COVID-19.

Beyond signs of slowing economic activity, the U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it would postpone all oral arguments slated to start March 23, the first closure of the high court since 1918 during the Spanish flu epidemic.

Which companies were in focus?

U.S airline stocks were mixed after the industry on Monday requested a $50 billion government bailout. United Airlines Holdings Inc. UAL, -3.61% and American Airlines Group Inc. AAL, -3.22% have joined Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL, -3.29% in announcing slashed routes as global air travel grinds to a near-standstill to limit the spread of COVID-19. Alaska Airlines Group Inc. ALK, -2.63% also slashed April capacity by 10% and suspended its stock dividend.

Shares of AMC AMC, -0.87% , the biggest cinema chain in the U.S., plunged 19.3%, while Cinemark Holdings Inc. CNK, -3.25% plummeted 31%, as federal agencies and local governments announced restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather in one place.

Apple’s AAPL, -3.17% shares were down more than 12.9% after Wells Fargo analysts said that March report on sales will be a “throw-away quarter” due to its temporary shuttering of all its stores outside of China.

Exxon Mobil Corp XOM, -1.61% shares were 9.5% lower after S&P Global Ratings cut its credit ratings one notch to AA from AA+, due to expectations of “lower oil and natural gas prices, low refining margins and weak chemicals demand anticipated over the next two years.”

How did other markets trade?

On Monday, the rate on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, 0.701% plunged 22.4 basis points to 0.722%, its largest single-day yield decline since March 18, 2009, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. gauge of crude prices US:CLK20, breached a psychological level of $30 Monday morning, and shed 9.6% to settle at $28.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its lowest finish since 2016. In precious metals, gold futures for April US:GCJ20 fell 2% to settle at $1,486.50 an ounce.

In currencies, the ICE U.S. dollar index DXY, +0.03% , which tracks the greenback’s performance against a basket of its major rivals, fell 0.6%.