Futures tumble 5%, hit ‘limit down’ halt

S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures fell another 5% in overnight action, hitting the so-called limit down threshold, as the the two indexes look to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average in bear market territory.

The latter, which tumbled another 1,200 points in recent hours, crashed on Wednesday after the WHO classified the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic for the first time.

Threatening more disruptions to the world economy, President Trump said all travel from Europe to the U.S. would be suspended for 30 days.

Efforts were also announced on deferred tax payments and payroll tax relief, but investors seemed to have been looking for more.

Crude futures are off 4.1% to $31.63/bbl, gold is 0.3% lower at $1636.70 and the 10-year Treasury yield is down 6 bps to 0.77%.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3550839-futures-tumble-5-hit-limit-down-halt