Markets plummet, Dow erases all gains since 2017

Stocks tumbled more than 5% Wednesday, and the Dow Jones industrial average erased virtually all its gains since President Trump’s 2017 inauguration. Even prices for investments seen as safe during downturns fell as the coronavirus outbreak chokes the economy and investors rush to raise cash.

Markets have been incredibly volatile for weeks, and Wall Street and the White House have acknowledged the increasing likelihood that the pandemic will cause a recession. The typical day this month has seen the stock market swing up or down by 4.9%. Over the last decade, it was just 0.4%.

On Tuesday, the Dow surged more than 5% after Trump promised aid to the economy, but the number of infections keeps climbing, and the Dow erased all but 0.4% of its gain since Trump’s inauguration. The S&P 500, which dictates how 401(k) accounts perform much more than the Dow, is down 29.2% from its record set last month, though it’s still up 12.1% since Election Day 2016.

The S&P 500’s slide was so sharp that trading was halted for 15 minutes Wednesday. The index ended the day down 5.2% after earlier plunging 9.8%.

The New York Stock Exchange will temporarily close its trading floor in lower Manhattan and move to all-electronic trading beginning Monday as a precautionary step amid the coronavirius outbreak.

Delta Air Lines said Wednesday that it has parked at least half of its planes to catch up with a plummeting drop in travel. Detroit’s Big Three automakers have agreed to close their North American factories to protect workers. Halliburton said it’s furloughing 3,500 workers in Houston for 60 days as the price of oil craters.

Big swaths of the economy have retrenched while much of society comes to a halt in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. Investors have clamored for Congress, the Federal Reserve and other...