US STOCKS-Wall St hammered by coronavirus anxiety; briefly confirms correction

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window)
* U.S. stocks eye steepest weekly decline since 2008
* New infections increase beyond China
* GS sees no earnings growth for U.S. companies in 2020
* Indexes down: Dow 1.73%, S&P 1.70%, Nasdaq 1.91%

(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh
Feb 27 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes tumbled nearly
2% on Thursday and confirmed a correction that began last week,
as the rapid spread of the coronavirus outside China intensified
fears about the hit to economic growth and corporate earnings.
At session lows, the S&P 500 .SPX and Nasdaq .IXIC were
down more than 10% from their intraday record highs hit on Feb.
19, while the Dow Jones Industrials .DJI was 10% off its Feb.
12 peak.
The indexes were set for their steepest weekly pullback
since the global financial crisis, as new infections reported
around the world surpassed those in mainland China. Governments
battling the epidemics from Iran to Australia shut schools,
canceled big events and stocked up on medical supplies.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention confirmed an infection in California in a person who
reportedly did not have relevant travel history or exposure to
another known patient. "It's not a China thing, it's becoming more global ... in
terms of the spread of the virus and its economic impact," said
Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Robert W. Baird in
Milwaukee.
"There's a lot of uncertainty right now about where that
impact lands ... it's also possible that forecasts are
over-reacting to the downside."
Industry analysts and economists continued to sound the
alarm as they assessed the fallout of the coronavirus outbreak,
with Goldman Sachs saying U.S. firms will generate no earnings
growth in 2020. Bank of America slashed its global growth forecast to the
lowest since the peak of the financial crisis. At 11:17 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 465.60 points, or 1.73%, at 26,491.99, the S&P 500
.SPX was down 52.86 points, or 1.70%, at 3,063.53. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 171.51 points, or 1.91%, at 8,809.26.
All of the 11 S&P sectors were deep in the red with
technology .SPLRCT losing about 2.9% while financials .SPSY ,
consumer discretionary .SPLRCD , energy .SPNY and real estate
.SPLRCR sectors dropped more than 2% each.
The NYSE Arca Airline index .XAL slumped 4.7% on fears
about travel disruptions beyond China while the Philadelphia SE
Semiconductor index .SOX , comprised of China-exposed stocks,
tumbled 2.3%.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 6.31-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 5.20-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and 97 new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 20 new highs and 428 new lows.