[New York Close] 'Return of Black Monday'... Sharp Plunge After Trump Press Conference

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The Federal Reserve's sudden introduction of zero interest rates failed to prevent a sharp plunge in the New York stock market. U.S. President Donald Trump recommended banning gatherings of more than 10 people in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak and mentioned that the current situation could continue until August, further intensifying market shock.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the 16th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 20,188.52, down 12.93% (2,997.10 points). The S&P 500 index fell 11.98% (324.89 points) to 2,386.13, and the Nasdaq index dropped 12.32% (970.28 points) to 6,904.59.

The decline in the three major New York indices on this day was the largest since the 1987 'Black Monday.' The New York stock market had already shown a double-digit drop last week, marking the biggest decline since Black Monday, but the drop widened further on this day.

The New York stock market was halted immediately after opening at 9:30 a.m. The circuit breaker was triggered because the S&P 500 index plunged more than 7% right after the opening, causing a 15-minute trading halt. The circuit breaker was triggered for the third time within a week, following March 9 and 12, but the decline did not shrink; instead, it expanded further.

In particular, President Trump's press conference near the end of trading, where he projected that the COVID-19 situation could last until August, was seen as the decisive blow. After President Trump's remarks, the Dow Jones index's decline sharply widened from the 2,000-point range to 3,000 points.

On this day, the number of COVID-19 patients in the U.S. surpassed 4,000, and some states including New York are implementing drastic measures such as restaurant closures and nighttime curfews one after another.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.