US STOCKS-Wall Street plunges to close with biggest one-day loss since mid-March

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window)
(Updates to market close)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, June 11 (Reuters) - Wall Street plummeted on
Thursday as investors reacted to renewed fears of a pandemic
resurgence and digested dour economic forecasts from the U.S.
Federal Reserve.
All three major U.S. stock indexes were down about 5%,
posting their worst day since mid-March, when markets were sent
into freefall by the abrupt economic lockdowns put in place to
contain the pandemic. The Nasdaq snapped a three-day streak of
record closing highs.
The sell-off was broad, with all 11 major sectors of the S&P
500 falling 3% or more.
"There's really no buy point," said Paul Nolte, portfolio
manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago. "It's pretty
much selling all the way through."
Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness
Counsel in New York, agreed.
"Everything's for sale," Ghriskey added. "There's fear we're
near a top."
Deaths of Americans from COVID-19 could reach 200,000 in
September, a grim result of the United States' economic
re-opening before getting growth of new cases down to a
controllable level, according to a leading health expert.
At the conclusion of its two-day monetary policy meeting on
Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve released its first
pandemic-era economic outlook, after which Chair Jerome Powell
warned of a "long road" to recovery. "The Fed keeping rates steady through 2022 could give
investors the impression that the Fed may be more concerned
about the pace of economic recovery than originally
anticipated," said Joseph Sroka, chief investment officer at
NovaPoint in Atlanta.
Economic data appeared to back up the Fed's gloomy economic
projections, with jobless claims still more than double their
peak during the Great Recession and continuing claims at an
astoundingly high 20.9 million. A year-on-year drop in core producer prices also reflected
the central bank's disinflationary concerns.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
6.88% to end at 25,132.25 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost
5.87% to 3,002.97.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 5.19%, to 9,500.39.
Interest rate-sensitive banks .SPXBK dropped after the Fed
indicated key interest rates would remain near zero through at
least 2022.
Travel-related companies, among the hardest hit by mandated
lockdowns, were sharply lower.
Boeing Co BA.N weighed heaviest on the Dow after its top
supplier Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc SPR.N announced a
21-day layoff for staff doing production and support work for
Boeing's 737 program.