The S&P 500 dropped 7% at 1 p.m. Wednesday, tripping a 15-minute stop in trading.
Wednesday’s halt in trading was the fourth to occur this week as markets have been extremely volatile in reaction to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Trading resumed at 1:15 p.m., but not before wiping out all the gains from the Dow Jones Industrial Average since President Trump was inaugurated. The Dow closed at 19,732.40 points on Jan. 20, 2017. It fell to 19,452.45 points Wednesday.
In midday trading, the Dow and the Nasdaq composite were down 8.40% and 6.81%, respectively.
Trading could be halted again for another 15 minutes if markets decrease 13% below Tuesday’s closing price. If the decrease rises to 20% or more, trading will be canceled for the rest of the day.
