Dow Jones, S&P 500 tumbles as companies release Q1 reports

Stocks sank again on Wall Street as more signs piled up of the economic and physical pain being caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 5% in afternoon trading on Wednesday after President Donald Trump warned the country to brace for “one of the roughest two or three weeks we’ve ever had in our country.” The selling was widespread, and all 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500 were down.

Treasury yields sank as investors moved into safer investments. Stocks worldwide fell following a weak reading on Japanese business sentiment and after big British banks cut their dividends to preserve cash.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 1,000 points, which means the index has lost nearly 9,000 points in the last eight weeks.