Goldman Sachs predicts the S&P 500 will plunge 28% from its February peak, putting it deep into a bear market.
As Fred Katayama reports, Wall Street edged closer to bear territory Wednesday.
Goldman Sachs says the longest bull market in history for stocks will soon be over.
The investment bank predicted Wednesday the S&P 500 will plunge 28% from its February peak.
It sees the broad index dropping to 2450 points, dragging the market deep into a bear market as the fast-spreading coronavirus hammers corporate profits.
In fact - Wall Street edged closer to a bear market Wednesday - that's when stocks fall more than 20 percent for their highs - with another steep selloff.
The S&P plunged more than 3% in early trading, falling below 2800.
Stocks retreated across-the-board on investor skepticism over President Donald Trump's stimulus plan to combat the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak.
As investors flocked to safety assets like government bonds and gold, the yield on the benchmark 10 year U.S. Treasury edged lower, hurting shares of interest sensitive banks.
Energy and travel-related stocks were among the biggest decliners.
Shares of airlines American, United and Delta dropped more than 7% in early trading.
The Global Business Travel Association says the global business travel sector stands to lose about $820 billion in revenue in the face of the coronavirus epidemic.
One silver lining for Wall Street: Goldman also forecasts that the S&P will bounce back in the fourth quarter to 3200 points.
But that's still about 30 points below where it started the year.
Following a rally in energy stocks this year, hedge funds have been selling off U.S. oil company shares to pile into crude oil..
The global economy is already in recession due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to economists polled by Reuters, separately..
