Virus Fears Grip United States Markets Again; Stocks, Bond Yields Slide

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Fear dominated financial markets again Thursday, and stocks fell sharply on worries about the fast-spreading virus outbreak. It was the latest shudder in Wall Street's wildest week in more than eight years.

Major U.S. indexes lost roughly 3.5%, and Treasury yields touched more record lows in their latest yo-yo move. The slide nearly wiped out the surge stocks had ridden just a day earlier, which came in part on hopes that moves by authorities around the world could cushion the economic fallout.

These swings are likely only to continue, as long as the number of new infections continues to accelerate, many analysts and professional investors say. Thursday was the fourth straight day in which the S&P 500 moved at least 2%, the longest such stretch since the summer of 2011.

The growing understanding that the spread of infections — and resulting damage to the economy — may not slow anytime soon is pulling sharply on markets. That pull has taken turns this week with the increasingly worldwide push that governments and central banks are trying to give markets through spending plans and interest rate cuts.

``It's been a roller-coaster market in recent days for equity investors, and today we appear to be on the downward leg for that ride,'' said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. ``What you need is time, and unfortunately that is still going to result in volatility.''