Wall Street went into a deep slump Wednesday, falling so far and so fast that the Dow Jones industrial average officially tipped into a bear market, ending a record 11-year stock rally.
The bear market reflects a 20 percent fall from record highs, which the Dow hit less than a month ago, and came after the coronavirus officially became a pandemic. The World Health Organization’s declaration Wednesday reflected its alarm that countries aren’t working quickly and aggressively enough to fight the disease covid-19, caused by the coronavirus.
The Dow — already deep in the red for the day — tumbled nearly 1,500 points after the WHO announcement. It closed at 23,553, a nearly 6 percent decline on the day. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index flirted with bear territory before closing just above the mark at 2,741, a 4.9 percent fall for the session. The Nasdaq composite tumbled 4.7 percent to 7,952. All three indexes are in negative territory for the year.