U.S. stocks plunge amid coronavirus crisis

U.S. stocks plunged on Wednesday with the Dow down more than 1,000 points after the opening as volatile trading continued amid coronavirus fears.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1,284.67 points, or 6.05 percent, to 19,975.14. The SP 500 dipped 137.47 points, or 5.44 percent, to 2,391.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 405.75 points, or 5.53 percent, to 6,929.03.

All of the 11 primary SP 500 sectors traded lower, with both utilities and energy down more than 7 percent shortly after the open, representing the two worst-performing groups.

The slide came despite Washington's massive stimulus plan to counter the virus impact.

The White House is seeking a stimulus package worth as much as 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars in spending, including direct payments to Americans, to cushion the U.S. economy from coronavirus fallout, local media reported Tuesday.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin pitched 250 billion dollars in checks to be sent at the end of April with a second set of checks totaling 500 billion dollars four weeks later if there is still a national emergency, Bloomberg quoted people familiar with the matter as saying.

The development came after the Trump administration expressed on Tuesday its intent to offer cash payments to working Americans as part of an economic stimulus package in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

"We're looking at sending checks to Americans immediately," Mnuchin said at a White House press briefing. "And I mean now, in the next two weeks."

President Donald Trump said on Monday the U.S. economy "may be" heading toward a recession and that the COVID-19 outbreak could last for months.

U.S. stocks rebounded on Tuesday with the Dow finishing up more than 1,000 points, following a historic drop in the previous session. The 30-stock index and the SP 500 on Monday shed 12.9 percent and 12 percent, respectively, marking their worst day since the Black Monday crash of 1987. The Nasdaq Composite had its biggest one-day plunge ever, tumbling 12.3 percent.