JOIN USDow loses 3% as US stocks dive on coronavirus worries
Losses on Wall Street deepened Wednesday near midday as rising coronavirus cases in many states spurred worries of a another hit to the US economy as it tries to reopen.
Near 1545 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3.0 percent, or nearly 800 points, at 25,364.24.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 2.9 percent to 3,041.40, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 2.5 percent to 9,875.26, pulling back from a record.
Florida reported more than 5,500 new cases, a single-day record, while Governor Greg Abbott told a television interview that the "safest" place was home unless people had to go out.
Meanwhile, the governors of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey announced they would impose a mandatory 14-day quarantine to people traveling to the three northeastern states from states with high Covid-19 infection rates.
"With headlines pointing to the continued rise in new coronavirus cases in several states, there is apt to be angst about reopening the economy," Briefing.com said.
"Florida has become a new hotspot lately and some have started to question the feasibility of an NBA season, which is preparing to finish its season in Orlando."
Analysts cited other negative news as catalysts for the fall, as well as worries about excessive equity valuations following gains for most of June.
The US Trade Representative said it was weighing new tariffs on $3.1 billion in European goods amid a dispute over subsidies to planemaker Airbus, ratcheting up tensions with the European Union.
The International Monetary Fund also released a downcast economic outlook, projecting world GDP would plunge 4.9 percent this year due to the economic carnage from the coronavirus.
Analysts also pointed to polls showing US President Donald Trump trailing challenger former Vice President Joe Biden. Some investors fear a Democratic sweep in November could lead to higher taxes.