The Energy Policy Administration Committee agreed on Thursday to revise the price of liquefied petroleum (LPG) by cutting its refinery transfer price to Bt14.37/kg from Bt17.17.

Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said the move was in response to the fall in LPG’s value in the global market and will also help ease people’s cost of living in these lean times.

The committee meanwhile resolved to cap the retail price of natural gas for vehicles (NGV) at Bt13.62/kg for public buses for another three months, May 1-July 31.

The NGV price for passenger cars will also be pegged at Bt15.31/kg for another five months, starting from this week.

The central bank has been steadily injecting liquidity into the bond market to offset volatility, deputy governor Mathee Supapongse said on Thursday (March 19).

It has now bought both short-term and long-term government bonds worth Bt45 billion, he said.

The purchase boosts total aid since last Friday to Bt100 billion.

The bank will also reduce its planned bond auctions to increase liquidity in the market, and stands ready to inject more funds to boost liquidity and calm volatility, Mathee said.

The Bank of Thailand is among central banks worldwide coming to the rescue of markets as investors panic over the virus fallout.

Amid rising numbers of new cases and deaths, investors have been in sell-off mode, sending almost every stock market tumbling.

Transactions amounted to a total of Bt61.601 billion with an index high of 1,048.80 and a low of 1,010.60.

A stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the index to slide between 1,020 and 1,030 today as the Covid-19 pandemic intensifies, sparking fears of a global economic recession and pushed crude oil price to the lowest level in 18 years, which would lead to negative sentiment for energy and petroleum stocks.

As of 5.30pm, crude price regained US$1.96 per barrel or 9.62 per cent to $22.33, while the US and most European stocks have contracted. DAX and FYSE fell by 1.04 and 1.25 per cent respectively.

The top ten stocks with the highest trade values today were BAM, PTT, ADVANC, GULF, CPALL, AOT, GPSC, PTTEP, BGRIM, and BDMS.

Elsewhere in Asia,Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 16,552.83, down 173.72 points, or 1.04 per cent.

China’s Shanghai SE Composite Index closed at 2,702.13, down 26.63 points, or 0.98 per cent, while Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 10,019.86, down 9.71 points, or 0.097 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 21,709.13, down 582.69 points, or 2.61 per cent.

South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 1,457.64, down 133.56 points, or 8.39 per cent.

Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 8,681.34, down 537.33 points, or 5.83 per cent.

As of 16.31pm, buying price of a gold bar stood at Bt22,750 per baht weight and selling price Bt22,850, while gold ornament was Bt22,345.84 per baht weight to buy with selling price at Bt23,350.

Prices increased from morning trade where a gold bar cost Bt22,700 to buy and Bt22,800 to sell, gold ornaments cost Bt22,285.20 to buy and Bt23,300 to sell.

Gold contracts in COMEX futures to be delivered in April rose by US$4.80 or 0.32 per cent to $1,482.70 per ounce.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price fell to the lowest point in 18 years due to uncertainty following the decline in oil demand as many governments worldwide have announced suspension of international travel to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said that the country would increase oil production in April this year to hit the highest level in history at 12.3 million barrels per day and will increase crude oil exports in May this year to its highest-ever at 10 million barrels per day.

The US Energy Information Administration reportedly said that the amount of crude oil in US stocks at the end of March 13 this year had increased from the previous week by about 2 million barrels to 453 million barrels, the highest level since July last year.

Benzene fuel prices dropped lower than those of Dubai crude oil after the amount of benzene exported from Japan decreased.

Diesel fuel prices dropped lower than those of Dubai crude oil as the market expected the amount of diesel fuel in the market to drop in the second quarter of the year for the usual annual maintenance shutdown.

Investors are fleeing emerging markets in record numbers and piling into the safe-haven greenback, with two emergency interest-rate cuts this month by the Federal Reserve doing nothing to diminish the dollar’s appeal.

With the dollar more integrated into the world economy than ever before, its gains are an added stress for businesses and governments as they brace for soaring costs on their dollar debt. The dilemma for emerging market central banks is that as they slash interest rates to support growth, they risk destabilizing their currencies as well if they cut too much.

“The surge in the dollar is another blow to emerging markets,” said Mitul Kotecha, senior emerging markets strategist at TD Securities in Singapore. “The demand for the dollar has outweighed any hit to the U.S. currency from sharply lower Fed rates. EM assets will continue to struggle as investors steer clear of relatively risky assets and maintain a bias for safe havens.”

Turkey’s central bank was the latest emerging market to make an emergency rate cut. South Korea, Chile, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Pakistan already eased this week following the Fed’s action Sunday, and South Africa, Indonesia and Brazil are expected to reduce their key rates in coming days.

New research from the Bank for International Settlements shows that since the global financial crisis, unexpected dollar appreciation depresses world trade growth. A reason for this could be a tightening in financial conditions as dollar lending to emerging markets slows, according to the research paper.

Outflows from emerging markets are already at record levels, reaching $30 billion in 45 days amid the virus outbreak, according to the Institute of International Finance. All major emerging-market currencies tracked by Bloomberg have weakened against the dollar since Jan. 20 — the onset of Covid-19 concerns in Asia — with the Russian ruble and Mexican peso dropping almost 20%.​

The pain is also felt in emerging Asia, where the market plunges have brought back memories of the Asian financial crisis more than two decades back. Indonesia’s rupiah is the worst performer in Asia this year, down 8.9%, South Korea’s won is trading near its weakest since 2010, and India’s rupee slumped to a record low last week.

Khoon Goh, the Singapore-based head of Asia research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, sees emerging markets in Asia carefully trying to deploy rate cuts at the same time as currency management.

“They will continue to utilize their FX reserves to smooth currency volatility, but will not seek to stem the trend or defend any particular levels,” said Goh. “In the current environment when external demand is very weak, allowing some currency weakness alongside lowering interest rates is the best way to try and ease overall financial conditions.”

Both Indonesia and the Philippines are set to cut interest rates Thursday, with the latter expected to ease by a bigger-than-usual 50 basis points.

It’s not just emerging markets that have suffered at the hands of the dollar’s rally. The Australian currency fell to its weakest level since 2003 — a cause for concern given it’s likely to push up import costs without any of the normal offset benefit in areas like inbound tourism and education, given the coronavirus is closing borders. Norway’s krone is down more than 16% this year, plunging to an all-time low as crude oil weakens.

Central bankers in the advanced world are coordinating to ensure dollars keep flowing around the globe. The Fed on Sunday reduced rates on its dollar-swap lines with five other central banks, taking a page from the policy playbook during the global financial crisis.

“A strong dollar is typically a headwind for emerging-market currencies and even more so for countries that are reliant on offshore dollar funding and have floating exchange-rate regimes, said Todd Schubert, head of fixed-income research at Bank of Singapore Ltd.

Here’s a look at how other emerging-market central banks outside of Asia have approached policy around the virus:

– Chile’s central bank slashed its key interest rate by the most in more than a decade March 16 amid the threat of a recession. The benchmark S&P IPSA index posted its biggest decline in at least three decades on the same day, and the price of copper, Chile’s leading export, is at the lowest in more than three years.

– Brazil is expected to cut interest rates on Wednesday, with growing calls for a full percentage-point reduction. An emergency meeting of the monetary council Monday announced measures to improve banks liquidity and freed up 56 billion reais ($11 billion) for lenders. After initially moving higher, the currency dropped to new lows days after the announcement while stocks triggered a circuit breaker five times since March 9.

– Mexico’s central bank has expanded the maximum size of their non-deliverable forward hedge program and launched an auction for $2 billion in hedges to contain the market fallout. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicts policy makers will likely slash at least 50 basis points in the March 26 meeting to deal with slowdown, if not more.

– In South Africa, a combination of downside surprises on inflation, the second recession in two years and continued power cuts supported the case for a 25 basis-point reduction even before the virus outbreak. There’s growing expectation of the central bank cutting by more than that on Thursday, with derivative markets pricing in 50 basis points.

–Turkey’s central bank on Tuesday cut its one-week repo rate by 100 basis points in an emergency meeting, and announced a range of measures designed to boost the banking sector’s liquidity and bolster loan growth. The move came two days before the scheduled meeting and pushed benchmark borrowing costs into the single digits for the first time since May 2018. The lira extended its slide against the dollar for a seventh day after the announcement, falling to the lowest level in 18 months.

–Russia looks set to put currency stability and inflation concerns first at its next monetary policy meeting on Friday, with all 30 economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicting a hold, after six rate cuts in a row. The central bank is under pressure to act after the ruble fell 18% this year.

–Egypt cut its base rate by a record 300 basis points in an emergency meeting on Monday night. That will put pressure on the pound, one of the best carry-trade currencies over the past two years, according to Goldman Sachs. But the central bank considers it worth the risk if it helps the economy in the face of the spreading virus.

–Nigeria has reacted to the crisis triggered by the virus and oil’s collapse in much the same way that it did when crude last crashed in 2014 — by trying to prevent the naira weakening and tightening capital controls. With foreign reserves having fallen almost 20% since July, Goldman calculates Nigeria needs a currency almost 40% weaker if Brent prices stay at $30 a barrel.

Buying price of a gold bar was Bt22,700 per baht weight and selling price Bt22,800, while buying price of gold ornaments was Bt22,285.20 per baht weight and selling price Bt23,300.

The prices dropped from Wednesday’s close (March 18) when buying price of a gold bar was Bt23,100 and selling price Bt23,200, while buying price of gold ornaments was Bt22,679.36 and selling price Bt23,700.

Gold contracts in COMEX futures to be delivered in April dropped by US$47.90 to $1,477.90 per ounce on Wednesday’s close as investors sold gold to hold cash amid uncertainty following impacts from the Covid-19 outbreak.

Also, gold price was under pressure from the strengthening dollar, making the gold contract price more expensive for investors who hold other currencies.

US President Donald Trump said that he would hold a press conference on Thursday about “the most important issue” from the US Food and Drug Administration relating to Covid-19.

The latest information from Johns Hopkins University stated that currently, the number of Covid-19 infected people worldwide was 201,436, while the death toll was 8,007.

In the US, 6,496 people have been infected and 114 people have died.

A stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the index to slide to between 1,020 and 1,030 before rebounding.

“Investors are still under pressure due to uncertainty following the rapid spread of Covid-19 that would cause a global economic recession and the decline in crude oil price to the lowest point in 18 years, which would cause a negative sentiment for energy and petroleum stocks,” the stock analyst said.

The analyst expected the index to rebound due to positive sentiment from the European Central Bank (ECB), which announced it would buy assets with a limit of 750 billion euros to deal with the economic impact from Covid-19.

“In addition, the US Senate has approved the Families First Coronavirus Response Act with a limit of US$1 trillion to mitigate the impact of Covid-19,” the stock analyst said.

“Moreover, Thailand’s Ministry of Finance is prepared to propose additional measures to take care of people and businesses affected by the Covid-19 impact to the Cabinet next week.”

The analyst recommended three groups of stocks for investors:

● Defensive stocks which pay high dividends, such as ADVANC, INTUCH, and TTW.

● Retail stocks, which gained buying power after the government returned Bt30 billion electricity metre insurance, such as CPALL, HMPRO, and BJC.

● Financial stocks, which gained from interest rate cuts, such as MTC, SAWAD, and KTC.

The administration’s $1 trillion proposed rescue plan, which forms the basis for fast-moving negotiations on Capitol Hill, includes sending two large checks to many Americans and devoting $300 billion toward helping small businesses avoid mass layoffs. Priorities laid out in a two-page Treasury Department document also include $50 billion to help rescue the airline industry and $150 billion to prop up other sectors, which could include hotels.

The White House is vetting these proposals with Senate GOP leaders before engaging more fully with Democrats, so the package is certain to evolve in coming days.Democrats, meanwhile, are eyeing their own priorities, largely aiming to shore up safety net programs and the public health infrastructure, as well as send money directly to American taxpayers, while shunning corporate bailouts. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., proposed on Wednesday having the Federal Reserve send $2,000 to every American adult and $1,000 to every American child until the crisis ends.

The emerging government stimulus package could be unprecedented in its size and velocity, dwarfing the $800 billion stimulus law passed during the Obama administration and the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program enacted during the Bush administration. All told, between several legislative packages advanced on Capitol Hill and other actions the government has taken, the White House is pushing an economic plan that is “over $2 trillion and counting” to try to arrest the coronavirus’s economic wrecking ball, a senior administration officials said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal details of the planning.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1,338 points on Wednesday, or 6.3 percent, virtually wiping out all of the stock market’s gains during Trump’s entire presidency. Trump told reporters Wednesday that under a “worst case scenario,” the unemployment rate could jump to 20 percent, twice its peak from the financial crisis. A JPMorgan Chase research note predicted the economy would shrink by 14 percent between April and June, the worst contraction in Post-World War II history.

“People want to go big,” Trump said at a news conference when asked about the size of the direct payments to Americans. “Everybody seems to want to go big and they want to get to the recovery.”

The global impact of the virus continued to skyrocket. Italy’s coronavirus death toll increased by 475 on Wednesday, the largest daily increase recorded in any country. New York state, meanwhile, has roughly 2,500 confirmed cases, more than all but 10 countries in the world.

As the U.S. government continued to scramble and escalate its response, Trump ordered Navy hospital ships to states on the coasts. The U.S. and Canada agreed to close its entire border to “nonessential travel,” and Ford and GM announced they would temporarily cease production at their North American plants. A growing number of business groups are petitioning the White House and Congress for economic relief as the total number of U.S. cases approached 8,000.

“The concentration of this drag at its most intense is far bigger than during the 2008 financial crisis,” said Bruce Kasman, managing director and Head of Economic Research at JP Morgan Chase.

The Senate on Wednesday also voted to approve a House-passed bill that would spend some $100 billion on paid leave, unemployment insurance, and free testing to people impacted by the coronavirus fallout. That vote sends the legislation to Trump for enactment. That followed the passage of another law earlier this month of an $8.3 billion emergency spending package for the public health system.

But attention on Capitol Hill was focused on the next step, as lawmakers faced the need for urgent action to pass a major stimulus bill to stabilize the economy before they, too, are forced to abandon work. Hanging over the Capitol was the threat of coronavirus infections that have already reached into Congress with several congressional aides infected and a number of lawmakers announcing voluntary self-quarantine after coming into contact with infected individuals.

Wednesday evening brought news of the first lawmaker to contract the disease: Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., who said he’d been notified that he had tested positive after developing symptoms Saturday, but was already feeling better.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced a new process for voting Wednesday aimed at lengthening the time for votes so senators don’t congregate in the well of the Senate. He urged his members to prepare to act.

“I want to repeat, again, the Senate’s going to stay in session until we finish phase three, the next bill, and send it over to the House. Republicans hope, shortly, to have a consolidated position along with the administration and we intend to sit down with our Democratic colleagues, see what we can agree to,” McConnell said on the Senate floor. “I would recommend senators stay around, close. Just how long it will take to get through these steps is unclear, but as everyone knows we are moving rapidly because the situation demands it.”

The new $1 trillion Trump plan would seek to spend $500 billion toward the cash payments to individual Americans, though some people wouldn’t qualify if their income is over a certain level. The Treasury Department outline says the funds would be paid out in two equal amounts, beginning on April 6 and then again on May 18. White House officials have eyed making each check $1,000, but those talks remain ongoing and the amount could grow.

The White House discussions with Republicans would aim to spend another $50 billion to help rescue the airline industry and $150 billion to prop up other sectors, which could include hotels, among others. Some Democrats have raised concerns about how these funds might be used and have called for putting restrictions on firms that receive emergency assistance to assure that employees aren’t laid off while executives pocket large bonuses. The Treasury proposal suggests an “airline industry secured lending facility” that would allow it to make direct loans to “U.S. passenger and cargo air carriers.”

Treasury would determine the interest rates and other terms of any loans, but they would include limits “on increases in executive compensation until repayment of the loans.”

Trump said Wednesday that the exact sums were in flux as negotiations progressed on Capitol Hill.

“We’re coming up with numbers. Haven’t gotten there yet, but certainly the hotel industry, cruise ship industry, the airlines — those are all prime candidates,” said Trump. It’s unclear if the president’s own hotels could stand to benefit from any such bailout.

Republicans were on Wednesday trying to resolve internal divisions over the direct checks proposal and other parts of the administration’s request. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a skeptic of the payments, was working with Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, on a potential compromise in which the funding for the second direct cash payment would instead be used to increase unemployment benefits, Romney told reporters.

Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., have also criticized the push for industry bailouts, with Hawley echoing Democratic demands they must incorporate workers’ needs.

“If you’re coming to me and just saying, we just want a bunch of taxpayer money, just give it to us, I’m not going to do that,” Hawley told reporters.

Republican senators are also working out the details of the cash payment plan and whether the checks should be for more than $1,000, according to two people familiar with internal conversations. Administration officials have suggested $1,000 is a minimum for the proposed benefit payment.

Some Republicans said they were prepared to do what they had to, like it or not.

“The amount of spending, does it give everybody pause? A little bit. But you know what? It needs to be done,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.

The approach being taken by McConnell and the administration of negotiating among themselves and then looking for Democratic buy-in irritated some Democrats. It stands in contrast to how the last coronavirus bill was negotiated, when McConnell stood on the sidelines as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., worked directly with Mnuchin.

“It’s a totally partisan approach. … That, to me, sends absolutely the wrong signal to the American public that we’re actually trying to function and put the country first,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. Some bipartisan talks were already underway, though, as Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, worked on small business provisions with Democratic colleagues.

One of the goals of the White House’s decision to seek $300 billion for small businesses in the plan would be to help firms continue paying employees, as there has already been a wave of layoffs, particularly at restaurants and other companies where business has suddenly halted.

These credits, which Treasury is calling “Small Business Interruption Loans,” would come with a 100 percent government guarantee. Eligible borrowers would have 500 or fewer employees, and the loan amounts would be targeted to finance six weeks of payroll, capped at $1,540 per week per employee. The loans would come from U.S. financial companies but would have U.S. government backing. The Treasury Department would have the power to issue regulations about interest rates and loan maturities.

The package doesn’t, at this point, include some of the big tax cuts that Trump had sought only a few days ago. White House officials pivoted away from the tax cuts after Democrats and Republicans largely panned the idea, and Trump expressed concern that it would take too long for these benefits to filter through to the economy.

The White House also sent Congress a separate emergency funding request for $46 billion for “ongoing preparedness and response efforts” to the coronavirus. This would include new funding for the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

The Dow Jones industrial average sank nearly 1,339 points or 6.3% to finish at 19,898.92. Both the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index and the technology-laden Nasdaq lost about 5%. Trading at one point was halted for the fourth time in six sessions when stocks tripped a circuit-breaker designed to prevent panic selling.

Bond prices also fell, sending yields higher, and oil prices plunged to an 18-year low amid continued uncertainty over the duration of the coronavirus shutdown.

Even the prospect of roughly $1 trillion in emergency federal aid, including $1,000 checks for taxpayers and an airline industry bailout, was not enough to halt the retreat. Dire predictions about the global pandemic’s spread and its likely economic toll discouraged traders.

After growing without interruption since mid-2009, the U.S. economy will likely shrink in the second quarter at an annual rate of 14% – a staggering decline that exceeds the worst of the global financial crisis, according to economists at JPMorgan Chase. A sudden stop that began in China, where the virus originated, is now rippling through the U.S., Europe and vulnerable emerging markets, likely shrinking global output for the entire year.

Tomorrow’s Labor Department report of initial jobless claims is expected to show evidence of the first layoffs triggered by the pandemic. Ian Shepherdson, chief economist for Pantheon Macroeconomics, said he expects claims to reach 250,000 this week, up from 211,000 last week and to top 1 million next week.

“The thing that has me the most concerned is the speed and severity of what’s playing out here,” said Gibson Smith, a prominent bond fund manager with Denver-based Smith Capital Investors. “There’s just a lot of stress in the system.”

Indeed, markets for U.S. government and corporate debt strained to handle a flood of sell orders. Investors sold 10-year Treasury securities to raise cash, sending prices down and yields up to 1.2%. The 10-year yield has more than doubled since March 9, when stocks and bonds began plunging in tandem. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Treasurys have been whipsawed during the coronavirus pandemic as investors seeking a safe haven initially drove bond prices up and yields down, said Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer of Penn Mutual Asset Management. In the past week, as institutional investors sought to raise cash by selling treasuries, prices sagged while yields jumped.

Some analysts said concern over Washington’s unprecedented spending plans, which will balloon the already swollen federal budget deficit and debt, were behind the latest moves.

“Global fixed income markets this morning have lost confidence in the ability of the governments of the world to finance the fiscal stimulus they are proposing,” Carl Weinberg, chief international economist for High-Frequency Economics, wrote in a note to clients. “Traders, investors and speculators have looked at the size and cost of the fiscal stimulus proposed by the United States and other governments – especially Italy – and decided to sell sovereign debt of all kinds.”

Investors said corporate debt markets also are not yet operating smoothly. Companies have taken advantage of record-low interest rates in recent years to load up on debt. That strategy worked well so long as short-term borrowings could be periodically refinanced.

Now, some cash-strapped companies that are not earning enough to make their loan payments may struggle to roll over their debt, said Anne Van Praagh, head of global credit strategy for Moody’s Investors Service.

Like most investors, Moody’s anticipates a wave of credit downgrades and corporate debt defaults. Energy companies hit by the abrupt oil price decline and businesses that are most exposed to the evaporation of consumer spending – such as airlines, hotels, cruises, and automakers – face the greatest risk.

“We’re going to go into a period of severe and extensive credit shock across many regions, sectors and asset classes,” she said. “This is unprecedented.”

Amid unpredictable day-to-day changes in market conditions, former Fed Chairs Janet L. Yellen and Ben Bernanke called for the central bank to begin purchasing high-quality corporate debt as part of its economic rescue efforts – something it has never before done.

“The Fed’s intervention could help restart that part of the corporate debt market, which is under significant stress,” the pair wrote in The Financial Times.

Meanwhile, the Dow’s plunge from its all-time high of 29,551 on Feb. 12 has eliminated one of the president’s favorite campaign arguments. As stocks soared since the 2016 election, Trump repeatedly took credit at campaign rallies and in White House remarks. He drew attention to the market setting all-time highs and boasted about the effect on voters’ investment accounts.

As late as Feb. 24, the president took to Twitter to talk up stock prices, tweeting: “Stock market starting to look very good to me.”

The Dow has lost more than 8,000 points since then.

Shares of Boeing, once the showcase of the bull market, closed just below $102, less than one-quarter of its March 2019 peak. Trump has pledged federal aid for the wheezing aerospace giant.

“If 2008 was the Great Financial Crisis, this is the Great Virus Crisis,” said Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research. “It’s all at once a health crisis, financial crisis and economic crisis. We need to fix the health part of it before we have it solved, but we can take financial and fiscal steps to blunt its effects. We are starting to do that now.”

All three major U.S. stock indexes are in a correction, having declined beyond 20% from their highs.

The Dow marked its eighth straight day of 1,000-point swings, which was considered unthinkable until recently. Stocks are moving on every news conference, financial proposal, headline and medical utterance. The blue chips closed up more than 1,000 points Tuesday off news of a $1 trillion stimulus proposal from the White House.

But that gain was wiped out on Wednesday, as investors sold stocks despite extreme government intervention aimed at cushioning the economy against a coronavirus-fueled recession. The Federal Reserve began the week by slashing interest rates to near zero and reviving a financial crisis-era “quantitative easing program,” and on Tuesday the central bank announced plans for a special fund to keep credit flowing during the coronavirus outbreak.

“The longer the economy is in a deep freeze, the strain is only going to increase,” said Heppenstall. “There’s just so much uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus. It makes it hard for anyone to plan.”

European markets also tanked Wednesday as governments introduced sweeping, blank-check stimulus moves to prop up their economies, with the benchmark Stoxx 600 index closing down more than 4% as oil and gas stocks plunged. Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom have hurled hundreds of billions in rescue package funding at the virus. French President Emmanuel Macron went so far as to promise that no French company will be allowed to fail because of the coronavirus impact, saying the government would provide assistance through loans or delayed tax payments and even nationalize industries to keep them afloat.

Yields on Italian debt rose to 2.3%, roughly twice what they were less than one week ago.

“People are panicked,” said Nancy Tengler of Tengler Wealth Management. “If there’s too much stimulus, then the market take is things must be really bad. And if there’s not enough, then there’s no leadership. People are worst-case-scenario-ing it.”