Market Snapshot: Stock futures fall again, indicating ominous start to trading on Friday the 13th

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U.S. stock futures fell again late Thursday, indicating further losses to cap a miserable week on Wall Street when trading begins on — wait for it — Friday the 13th.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average in bear-market territory Thursday, commonly defined as a decline of at least 20% from a recent peak.

What are markets doing?

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMH20, -1.65%  , after starting the overnight session about flat, were last down around 500 points, or 2.4%. S&P 500 futures ESH20, -1.42%   and Nasdaq-100 futures NQH20, -2.17%   were also down sharply.

Earlier Thursday, stocks tumbled again and the Dow and S&P 500 suffered their worst day since the “Black Monday” crash of Oct. 19, 1987. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -9.99%   plunged 2,352.60 points, or 10%, to end at 21,200.62. The S&P 500 SPX, -9.51%   shed 9.5%, or 260.74 points, to close at 2,480.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -9.43%   tumbled 9.4%, or 750.25 points, to finish at 7,201.80.

What’s driving markets?

Stocks sank again Thursday as liquidity fears joined the coronavirus pandemic and the illness’s effect on the economy to rattle investors. The Fed said it would inject $1.5 trillion of temporary liquidity into the financial system, but it did little to reassure traders, who were apparently dismayed by the lack of concrete plans from President Donald Trump in his address Wednesday night, and disappointed that Congress has not yet come to an agreement on a wide-ranging aid bill.

“The biggest issue isn’t the coronavirus, it’s the emerging liquidity crisis,” Kent Engelke, chief economic strategist at Capitol Securities Management told MarketWatch on Thursday. “It’s frankly scary. It really shatters your confidence in the market.”

Meanwhile, a report by Capital Economics said measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus could force the U.S. economy to contract by a stunning 4% in the second quarter, pushing the economy into recession.

What are other markets doing?

Markets in Asia were plummeted in early trading Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei NIK, -9.84%   down 9%, South Korea’s Kospi 180721, -8.10%   off 8% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -7.42%   down 7%.

After closing sharply lower Thursday, oil futures continued to fall in the overnight session. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery CLJ20, -2.00%   fell 2.4% to $30.75 a barrel, while May Brent crude BRNK20, -1.75%  , the global benchmark, was down 2% at $32.51 a barrel.

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