The New York Stock Exchange is considering shutting its trading floor amid panic the spread of coronavirus could lead to a global economic disaster.

'NYSE preparing for possibility floor can't open amid panic,' Fox News reporter Charles Gasparino tweeted just before the markets closed on Friday.

Wall Street firms are also restricting travel and telling employees they may have to work from home, Gaparino said.

Fox News reporter Charles Gasparino tweeted about the possible closure of the trading floor just before markets closed on Friday

The New York Stock Exchange is preparing for the chance that it may have to shut its trading floor amid a panic the coronavirus could spread into a wider pandemic. The exterior of the exchange is pictured on Manhattan's Wall Street Friday

The exchange is considering its options as worries over the virus becoming a pandemic could lead to a financial economic disaster. Traders are pictured during the opening bell

Traders are pictured on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, which is now closed and is not expected to reopen until Monday

A tourist is spotted wearing a anti-viral mask outside the New York Stock Exchange. Wall Street firms have begun restricting travel and telling employees they may have to work from home

A spokesperson confirmed to DailyMail.com that 'NYSE is carefully monitoring the spread of COVID-19 and has robust contingency plans, tested regularly, to enable continuous operation of the NYSE exchanges should any facilities be impacted.'

The exchange floor was shut down after markets closed Friday, and was not expected to reopen until Monday.

US stock indexes fell sharply again on Friday as the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak raised the alarm for a possible global recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial average was down 357 points at the closing bell, or 1.4 percent, marking seven straight days of losses and the biggest weekly drop since the 2008 global financial crisis

A board from the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. US stock indexes fell sharply again as the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak raised the alarm for a possible global recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial average was down 357 points at the closing bell, or 1.4 percent, marking seven straight days of losses and the biggest weekly drop since the 2008 global financial crisis

Investors are reeling after virus fears wiped nearly $3 trillion off the combined market value of S&P 500 companies this week, with the index confirming its fastest correction in history in volatile trading on Thursday.

Globally, some $6 trillion, or about 10 percent, has been erased from stock values as markets in Asia and Europe plunged on fears that the outbreak will shrivel corporate profits there. At their heart, stock prices are determined by expectations of a company's future profits.

Even as the outbreak eases in China, investors have been rattled by the rapid spread of the disease in other countries, which now account for about three-quarters of new infections.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated the central bank was prepared to cut interest rates as necessary to help cushion the economy against the effects of the spreading virus.

'The fundamentals of the US economy remain strong,' he said in a statement released on Friday. 'However, the coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity.'

'The Federal Reserve is closely monitoring developments and their implications for the economic outlook,' he said. 'We will use our tools and act as appropriate to support the economy.'