While Wall Street took another brutal hit on Wednesday, with a drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average that threatened to wipe out the gains made under President Donald Trump, the economic effects of the coronavirus epidemic brought major blows to entertainment stocks as well.
plunged 6.3% while the market grapples with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, adding to the growing losses now
A little over a month ago, the Dow hit its all-time high of 29,551 points. But after a series of devastating losses, the Dow plunged 6.3% Wednesday, dropping more than 1,300 points. It closed at 19,902 points, alarmingly close to the 19,827-point mark where it stood when Trump took office in January 2017.
Several major entertainment and tech firms have been rocked in the last two weeks, as growing fears over COVID-19 and its impact on the economy has spooked investors. Disney on Wednesday dropped 5% to $88.80 per share — extending the painful run Disney shareholders have endured over the last month — and Apple fell 2.5% to $246.67 per share. Viacom, Twitter, Fox and Discovery all saw their stock prices drop between 4-10%.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were hit hard as well on Wednesday, with both indexes dropping more than 4.7%. The losses come a day after the Nasdaq dropped more than 12%, marking its largest one-day percentage drop ever.
White House officials and congressional Republicans are working on an emergency stimulus plan that would send up to $2,000 to many Americans while also offering several hundred billion dollars to small businesses, the Washington Post reported. The overall recovery plan is expected to cost about $1 trillion.
There are more than 7,00 confirmed coronavirus in the U.S. as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.