Stocks slide on Wall Street over coronavirus and oil crash
By STAN CHOE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers
Stocks went into a steep slide Monday on Wall Street as coronavirus fears and a crash in oil prices spread alarm through the market, triggering the first automatic trading halt in over two decades. The price of oil sank 20% after Russia refused to roll back production in response to falling demand and Saudi Arabia signaled it will ramp up its own output. Europe fell into a bear market, closing the day with the heaviest losses since the 2008 financial crisis. U.S. stocks are down 18% from the peak they reached last month. Bond yields plumbed new lows as investors sought safety.