Here’s What Happened to the Stock Market on Tuesday

TUE, FEB 25 20204:09 PM EST
Fred Imbert
@FOIMBERT

Dow Jones Industrial Average drops 879 points

The Dow dropped 879.44 points, or 3.15%, to 27,081.36. The S&P 500 slid 3.03% to 3,128.21. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.77% to 8,965.61. Wall Street added Tuesday to its massive sell-off from the previous session as fears of a slowdown in economic growth intensified.

10-year yield dives to record low

Investors rushed out of stocks and loaded up on U.S. Treasurys, pushing the 10-year yield down to its all-time low. Stocks fell even as top White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow maintained that the coronavirus was contained so far in the U.S. and that economic growth had yet to be significantly affected. Bottom line: Stocks will remain under pressure if the number of confirmed cases keep rising or if the economy data starts showing a significant deterioration from the virus.

Banks tumble, ‘FAANG’ falls

Bank of America and Citigroup fell 5.04% and 4.27%, respectively, as the big banks were under pressure from falling bond yields. The so-called FAANG stocks — Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet — all dropped at least 1.80%.

What happens next?

Any updates on the coronavirus outbreak will be front of mind for investors on Wednesday. New home sales numbers are due out in the morning.