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Dow Jones Suffers 3,583-Point Drop In Worst Week Since '08 Crisis On Coronavirus Fears

The Dow Jones Industrial Average capped an ugly week with further coronavirus-fueled losses, marking its biggest weekly loss since the 2008 financial crisis.

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But stocks trimmed losses into the close. The Dow Jones industrials closed with a 1.4% loss, after plunging more than 3%, the S&P 500 cut a big loss to 0.8%, and the Nasdaq finished flat after shedding around 3% earlier in stock trading today. Small caps tracked by the Russell 2000 tumbled 1.4%. Volume swelled on both the Nasdaq and NYSE exchanges vs. Thursday, according to early data.

The Dow ended the week with a 12% drop, the worst since the week ended Oct. 10, 2008, when the blue chip index plummeted 18%. For the week, the S&P 500 skidded 11%, as the index fell sharply below the 200-day moving average. The Nasdaq shed 10.5% but is holding up better by testing, rather than slicing through, the 200-day line.

Stocks dropped at the open Friday amid heightened fears of a global pandemic. Lithuania, Mexico, New Zealand and Nigeria confirmed their first coronavirus cases.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization upgraded its global risk assessment of the Covid-19 coronavirus's potential to "very high" from "high," but stopped short of calling the virus a pandemic.

Fed Poised To Step In

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday in a statement that coronavirus poses "evolving risks" to the U.S. economy and the central bank stands ready to cut interest rates if needed.

JPMorgan (JPM) and Boeing (BA), off more than 4% each, led the downside in the Dow Jones index. JPMorgan gapped down below its 200-day line for the first time in six months. Boeing dived to a two-year low and is nearly 40% off its March 1 high.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) lost 3%, as did Home Depot (HD) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).

Apple (AAPL) shaved a 2% loss to less than 0.1%. It still gapped down well below its 40-week line in heavy trade, triggering a sell signal. Microsoft (MSFT) tumbled as much as 4% during the session but reversed to a 2.4% gain. However, it posted a 9% weekly drop below the 40-week line.

Few Places To Hide

Even gold, long considered a safe haven, was lower. Gold prices dropped nearly 4% to $1,581.90 an ounce. Gold miners, meat products and health care providers were the biggest losers among IBD's 197 industry groups.

Beyond Meat (BYND) crashed 15.5% after missing Q4 earnings estimates, but offered upbeat sales estimates. Shares of the IPO stock are back below their 50-day line and more than 60% off their 52-week high.

Over in the IBD 50, Planet Fitness (PLNT) tumbled 6% in fast trade to a three-month low. D.R. Horton (DHI), StoneCo (STNE) and HealthEquity (HQY) shed about 4% each.

But a few stocks saw gains north of 1% including Square (SQ), Emergent Biosolutions (EBS) and Nvidia (NVDA), which rallied 5% or more on Friday.

The Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) closed off 0.2%, after falling as much as 2%.

Follow Nancy Gondo on Twitter at @IBD_NGondo

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