Dow plunges to biggest quarterly drop in more than 30 years amid coronavirus pandemic
- S&P 500 and Dow end first quarter more than 20 per cent below end of 2019
- With economists slashing 2020 growth expectations, investors fear corporate defaults and more mass lay-offs will lead to deep and lasting global recession
Wall Street’s three major indices tumbled on Tuesday, with the Dow registering its biggest quarterly decline since 1987 and the S&P 500 suffering its deepest quarterly drop since the financial crisis on growing evidence of massive economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic.
In one of the fastest turns into a bear market, the S&P 500 and the Dow both ended the first quarter more than 20 per cent below the end of 2019, as the health crisis worsened in the United States and brought business activity to a standstill.
It was also the S&P’s biggest first-quarter decline on record as consumers were advised to stay at home, leading businesses to announce temporary closures and massive staff furloughs.
As a result, economists have slashed 2020 growth expectations and investors, eying dismal quarterly financial reports, fear corporate defaults and mass lay-offs would lead to a deep recession.
An unprecedented round of fiscal and monetary stimulus had helped equity markets edge higher last week following wild swings that saw the benchmark S&P 500 rise 9 per cent and slump 12 per cent in two consecutive sessions.