Stock market live updates: Stocks close near lows, Awaiting futures open, Trump comments on sell-off

This is a live blog. Please check back for updates.

In a tweet after the closing bell, President Donald Trump reassured investors the coronavirus is “very much under control” in the United States, while endorsing the stock market after the worst sell-off in two years. “Stock Market starting to look very good to me!” Trump said.

• Dow closed down -3.56% for its worst day since Fe 8, 2018 when the Dow lost -4.15%
• YTD: Dow is down -2.02% YTD
• Sectors: 11 out of 11 sectors were negative today led by Energy down -4.73% for its worst day since Aug 24, 2015 when Energy lost -5.18%
• Energy closed 23.76% below its April 23^rd 52-wk high of 507.26 in bear market levels
• The least negative sector today was Utilities down -1.16%
• Sectors YTD: 6 out of 11 sectors are positive YTD led by Utilities up 7.06% YTD
• The most negative sector YTD is Energy down -15.28% YTD
• WTI (APR) settled down -3.65% at 51.43 hitting a low today of 50.45 its lowest level since Feb 12^th when WTI traded as low as 49.95
• YTD: WTI is down -15.77% YTD
• WTI is 22.78% below its 52-wk high of 66.60 from April 23^rd in bear market levels
• Gold (APR) settled up 1.69% at 1,676.6, hitting a high today of 1,681.7 its highest level since Jan 23, 2013 when gold traded as high as 1,694.8 and its 8^th straight positive day
• YTD: Gold is up 10.08%

• US 2-year note yielding 1.2557% vs. Friday’s close of 1.321%, hitting a low today of 1.243% its lowest level since May 18, 2017 when the 2-yr yielded as low as 1.225%
  — Francolla

“The bond market is telling me they need to cut in the next coming weeks,” Jeffrey Sherman, deputy CIO at DoubleLine Capital, said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Monday. The 10-year Treasury yield tumbled to a three-year low as the S&P 500 dropped the most in two years. Traders are now pricing in a 53% chance of an interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s April meeting, according to the CME. The market also assigns a 40% chance of three cuts before the end of 2020. “It’s pretty horrible that Mr. Powell has to go on stage in two weeks and talk about how great the jobs number is. He thought everything was under control then due to the fears, the entire curve is melting down,” Sherman said. The Fed will announce its next policy decision on March 18. “It’s a one-day panic. You shouldn’t be adjusting portfolio on that,” he added.— Li

Traders will be watching closely when overnight futures open up 90 minutes from now. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust was steady so far in after hours trading, down only a couple points. –Melloy

Stocks went out near the session lows, with the Dow ending the day down by 1,031 points. It was down 1,079 points at the worst levels. The Dow turned negative for 2020, down 2% now year-to-date. The Dow’s 3.5% drop was its worst fall since February 2018. UnitedHealth, American Express, Cisco, Visa and Apple were the Dow’s worst performers, all down more than 4%.

The Dow is back down more than 900 points as the comeback rally noted earlier is failing. The so-called smart money in the final hour is voting ‘no’ on buying the dip right now. The Dow was down 1,079 points at the worst levels. It was last down 947 points. -Melloy

The S&P 500 tanked more than 3% at its session low Monday, its biggest percentage drop since August, as coronavirus fears drove investors away from risk assets. Declines of this magnitude aren’t very common for the equity benchmark, averaging about 1.5 per year since 1950, according to Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist for LPL Financial. The last time the S&P 500 suffered a drop more than 3% was in early December 2018, Detrick said. The S&P 500 was last down 2.8%. —Li

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester called the coronavirus a “downside risk” to her economic forecast, but does not see the need to cut rates yet. The central bank official cited worries about financial imbalances due to elevated stock and commercial real estate prices as arguing against further policy loosening. —Cox

The Dow is about 200 points off the lows and trending upward with an hour to go of trading. Wall Street likes to say the ‘smart money’ comes in in the final hour of trading. Let’s see if the Dow can keep going higher in the final 60 minutes when they arrive. —Melloy

Oil prices slid on Monday as investors feared that the growing number of coronavirus cases would lead to a global economic slowdown and therefore softer demand for crude. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude shed 3.65%, or $1.95, to settle at $51.43 per barrel for its worst day since Jan. 8 and putting it back in bear market territory. International benchmark Brent crude fell 3.8% to settle at $56.30 per barrel. Earlier in the session WTI and Brent had each been down more than 5%, but recovered some of those losses after Saudi Aramco’s CEO reportedly said that the coronavirus impact would be “short term,” according to a report from Reuters. —Stevens

With roughly one hour left in the trading session, stocks were on track to post sharp losses as investors flee riskier assets in favor of traditional safe havens such as gold and U.S. Treasurys. The Dow plummeted more than 800 points. At its low of the day, the Dow was down more than 1,000 points. The S&P 500 slid 2.9% while the Nasdaq was down about 3.2%. —Imbert

Low interest rates will prevent central banks from staving off the economic consequences of the coronavirus, Bleakley Advisory Group’s Peter Boockvar said Monday. “They’ve expended so much ammunition already that people should not be looking at them for any type of savior-type behavior,” the firm’s chief investment officer said on CNBC’s “The Exchange.” The Federal Reserve funds futures market points to a 56% chance of at least a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed’s April meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tool. That increases to a 76% chance at the Fed’s June meeting. Investors continue to put faith in the Fed “because they’ve been conditioned for the last 10 years … in thinking that the Fed can cure every ill,” Boockvar argued. “I’m telling you that they’re not going to be able to cure this one.” —Stankiewicz

As oil prices slid more than 5%, the S&P Oil & Gas (XOP) ETF fell 6%, putting it on track for its worst day since March 8, 2016. All components in the ETF are trading in negative territory, and the fund is more than 47% below its 52-week high level. —Francolla, Stevens

The so-called FAANG stocks all fell on Monday as the major averages tanked amid coronavirus concerns. Facebook and Amazon both dropped at least 5% while Netflix, Alphabet and Apple were all down more than 4%. Facebook shares were on pace for their biggest one-day drop since Jan. 30, when they closed 6.1% lower. Amazon was headed for its worst day since Feb. 1, 2019. Netflix was on pace for its biggest loss since Oct. 22 while Alphabet suffered its biggest decline in about six months. Apple headed for its worst day since Aug. 23, when it slid 4.6%. —Imbert

The Dow is on pace for its second biggest point drop ever, but today’s percentage loss of 3.65% does not even fall in the top 50 daily percentage losses since inception (The Dow plunged 22.6% on Oct. 19 1987 for the worst drop ever). The Dow is currently on pace for its worst day by percentage since Feb. 8, 2018 when the Dow lost 4.15%. —Francolla

The major stock averages hit their session lows in early afternoon trading as coronavirus fears continue to batter investor sentiment. The Dow was down about 1,050 points, or 3.6%. The S&P 500 also traded 3.6% lower while the Nasdaq lost 4%. —Imbert

About nine stocks listed at the New York Stock Exchange traded lower on Monday for every one advancer, FactSet data showed. That large disparity between decliners and advancers came as investors were rattled by a spike in coronavirus cases outside of China. —Imbert

The Dow plunged 1,000 points in midday trading to its session low amid the mounting fears about the coronavirus. Monday’s drop would be the biggest one-day point drop for the 30-stock benchmark since Feb. 2018. The S&P 500 dropped 3.3%, with tech and energy leading the declines. — Li

Goldman Sachs cut its U.S. GDP growth forecast for the first quarter to just 1.2% from 1.4%, seeing a more severe drag from the coronavirus. That growth rate is drastically slower than the 2.1% increase in the fourth quarter and 2.3% for the full year 2019. “The risks are clearly skewed to the downside until the outbreak is contained,” Jan Hatzius, Goldman’s chief U.S. economist, said in a note on Monday. However, Goldman does see some of the activity lost coming back in the second quarter if the virus is contained. The firm expects second-quarter U.S. GDP to tally 2.7%. — Li

The major U.S. stock averages are tanking around midday ET, with the Dow plummeting more than 900 points. That would be the 30-stock average’s biggest one-day point drop since February 2018, when it slid more than 1,000 points. The S&P 500 is down 3.1% — on pace for its worst day since October 2018 — while the Nasdaq Composite trades 3.7% lower. —Imbert

“Our initial reaction is that the Dow is still above 28,000 and nobody thought it would even get that high,” a White House official told CNBC’s Eamon Javers. “We understand that the market is reacting to the news of the day, as it should, but the actual economy itself is very strong.” —Imbert

The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) dropped 3.6%, putting the EM stocks fund on pace for its worst day since Aug. 5, when it closed 3.7% lower. EEM also dipped into correction territory, briefly trading 10% below its 52-week high. —Francolla, Imbert

Monday’s sell-off in stocks led the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq to trade below their 50-day moving averages. It was the first time that the Dow broke below its 50-day average since Feb. 3. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq, meanwhile, haven’t closed below their 50-day moving averages since October. —Imbert, Francolla

Following Monday’s decline, the Dow is now in the red for 2020. The average is now down 1.3% year-to-date. The S&P 500 is still clinging to a 0.4% gain for the year. The Nasdaq Composite Index is still up 3.3% for the year, even after Monday’s slide. — Melloy

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street” that investors should watch the chip stock Micron to judge when the Chinese economy is rebounding from the coronavirus outbreak. Cramer said that Micron, which is down 3.5% and trading about $55 per share Monday morning, has several positive characteristics that should make it an attractive buy once the outbreak is contained. “It has a huge amount of business in China, so watch Micron. If Micron turns, then you can make a case that maybe things indeed are better,” Cramer said. — Pound

Some stocks are seeing a benefit from the coronavirus fears. Clorox shares are up more than 1%. Zoom, a maker of video conferencing services, was up more than 5%. Gilead Sciences, which is working on a drug to treat the coronavirus, rose 5%, making it the biggest winner in the S&P 500. —Melloy

Stocks had a tumultuous open on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping about 975 points. The fall in the 30-stock average is the third largest one-day point drop in the past three years. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 were down by 2.3% and 4%, respectively. Alongside the market sell-off, bond yields and oil prices also fell. – Fitzgerald

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said Monday the recent outbreak of the coronavirus is not changing his outlook on stocks as the economy remains solid, albeit a little softer. “Business is down but it’s down from a very good level,” he said. Buffett also thinks Apple might be the “best business I know in the world,” while noting that bank stocks are “very attractive compared to most other securities I see.” For more on Buffett’s three-hour interview with Becky Quick on “Squawk Box,” click here. —Imbert

Alongside the suffering stock averages, the Cboe Volatility Index, a gauge for investor fear, jumped more than 6 points above the 23 level on Monday, as investors worry about the deadly coronavirus’ impact on global growth. The VIX, a measure of the 30-day implied volatility of U.S. stocks, soared nearly 40% before the market opened.

CNBC used Kensho, a hedge fund analytics tool, to track the top exchange-traded fund performers and best sectors to hide out in during times of uncertainty. – Fitzgerald

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is set to open down 800 points on Monday as a spike in cases of the coronavirus outside of China worried investors about a dent to global growth. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were down by 2.7% and 2.9%, respectively. However, a big market sell-off on Monday could mean a rebound on Tuesday, according to Bespoke Investment Group. The firm looked at large gaps down on Monday’s and how the market performed through the rest of the week and found that Tuesday normally brings a relief trade.”While performance from the open to close on the day of a big gap down was generally weak, performance on the Tuesday after was ‘very positive’,” the firm said. –Fitzgerald

The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) and the iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) were both down more than 3% in the premarket, putting them on pace to break below their respective 50-dayy moving averages for the first time since Feb. 3. AMD, Nvidia, Micron and Lam Research led the ETFs lower in the premarket. —Francolla, Imbert

Gold futures gained more than 2% to around $1,680 per ounce, reaching its highest level since Jan. 23, 2013 as investors fled riskier assets such as stocks amid coronavirus concerns. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) gained 3.5% in the premarket, putting it on pace for its best day since Aug. 23. —Francolla, Imbert

Oil prices are following U.S. stock futures lower as concerns over the coronavirus outbreak took a bite out of global economy growth expectations. West Texas Intermediate futures were down about 4%, on pace for their worst day since Jan. 8, when they dropped 4.9%. U.S. crude also hit its lowest level since Feb. 18. Brent futures were down 4.2% and reached their lowest level since Feb. 13. —Francolla, Imbert

As fears over the coronavirus sent stock market futures spiraling lower Monday, traders increasingly looked to the Federal Reserve for a rescue. The market is now pricing in a better than even – 53% – chance of an interest rate cut at the central bank’s April meeting, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. That’s the most aggressive pricing during this cycle and reflective of how anxious Wall Street is getting over the disruptive threat the virus poses. The anticipation has gotten to the point now where traders are assigning a 39% of three cuts before the end of 2020. —Cox

Stock futures tumbled on Monday, with the Dow set to open about 700 points lower, as spiking coronavirus cases in Italy, South Korea and the Middle East spark fears of further spread beyond China. The S&P 500 is set to drop 2.4% at the open, which would be the biggest plunge since August 2019. —Li

Technical analysts saw some weak internals in this market at the end of last week, which could be why the decline Monday is a little more severe than expected. Stocks were vulnerable to a decline. “The market is becoming very narrow in terms of stocks that have outperformed the S&P 500 over the last three months,” wrote JC O’Hara, chief market technician for MKM Partners, over the weekend. “Currently, this is the smallest group of winners since the 2007 market top.” —Melloy

The Federal Reserve may be forced to cut interest rates this year as worries about the coronavirus keep spreading, according to an Evercore ISI note to clients on Monday. “With outbreaks of the Wuhan virus in South Korea and Italy suggesting that it may be on the brink of morphing into a global pandemic we raise our estimate of the likelihood that the Fed cuts interest rates this year to 45 per cent,” strategist Krishna Guha said. “We would rather have a vaccine than a rate cut and fully recognize that monetary policy is not optimized for addressing this type of shock,” he said. —Bloom

Headlines over the weekend about a surge in coronavirus cases reported outside of China dented market sentiment to start off the week. South Korea said the number of people infected now totals more than 750. In Italy, the government said more than 130 cases have been confirmed along with three deaths. Iran has also confirmed more than 40 cases and eight deaths stemming from the coronavirus. These reports sent not only U.S. risk markets tumbling; they also dragged down global markets. —Imbert

Stocks not directly tied to the coronavirus fears are also very weak in premarket trading as investors sell popular positions in a risk off move. Netflix shares were off 4%. Amazon, Microsoft and Disney all dropped more than 3%. —Melloy