Coronavirus wipes out $1.7 trillion in US stock market value in two days

KEY POINTS

• The S&P 500 lost an estimated $1.737 trillion in value in two days, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices' Senior Index Analyst Howard Silverblatt. 
• Stocks cratered again on Tuesday as investors fled riskier assets amid intense fears about a slowdown in global growth caused by the deadly coronavirus.
• The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.8% on Tuesday and joined the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average in turning negative for the year.

The S&P 500 just wiped out about $1.737 trillion of its value during its two-day market sell-off, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The equity benchmark lost $810 billion in value on Tuesday, adding to its $927 billion loss on Monday, according to the firm's Senior Index Analyst Howard Silverblatt. It's down $2.138 trillion since last Wednesday's high, according to S&P Dow Jones.

Stocks cratered again on Tuesday as investors fled riskier assets amid intense fears about a slowdown in global growth caused by the deadly coronavirus. The S&P 500′s two-day loss of 6.3% was the largest for the benchmark since August 2015, when the Chinese government devalued the yuan amid the U.S.-China trade war.

Tuesday's 900 point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average added to Monday's stunning 1,000 point plunge. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.8% on Tuesday and joined the S&P 500 and Dow in turning negative for the year. Bond yields also plunged as investor sought safer havens. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to a record low of 1.32%.

The spreading deadly virus, that has infected more than 80,000 and killed more than 2,700, has sent shock waves through the markets. Companies like Apple, Nike, United Airlines and Mastercard have all raised flags about the coronavirus and its impact on their earnings. Chip stocks, which rely heavily on revenues from China, are being abandoned by Wall Street as it becomes more apparent supply chain disruption will persist until the epidemic is contained.

Health officials at the Centers for Disease Control said Tuesday the coronavirus is "likely" to continue to spread throughout the United States and the American public should "prepare for the expectation that this is going to be bad." This follows news on Monday about a spike in cases in other countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, outside the virus's epicenter in China. Investors are closely watching reports in Italy, Iran and South Korea.

Top White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow told CNBC that the U.S. economy is "holding up nicely" and that the coronavirus in this country is "pretty close to air-tight' containment.

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