US STOCKS-Coronavirus concerns pummel major indexes as investors flee to bonds

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* Bank stocks pummeled as Treasury yields slide
* Carnival, Royal Caribbean drop on report of U.S. plan to
curb
cruise travel
* Energy shares swoon as oil dives 8%
* Indexes down: Dow 2.82%, S&P 3.53%, Nasdaq 3.66%

(Updates to late afternoon, changes byline, adds NEW YORK to
dateline)
By April Joyner
NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes tumbled on
Friday as fears of economic damage intensified with the global
tally of coronavirus cases crossing 100,000, sending investors
scurrying to the safety of bonds.
The S&P 500 .SPX fell 3% in its tenth decline over the
past 12 sessions as moves to contain the virus crippled supply
chains and prompted a sharp cut to global economic growth
forecasts for 2020. Yields on long-dated U.S. Treasuries fell to
record lows as investors fled to bonds. The benchmark index is set to close out the week more than
14% below its record close on Feb. 19.
The drop in Treasury yields weighed heavily on shares of
financial companies .SPSY , which tumbled 4.8%. The S&P 500
Banks index .SPXBK dropped 5.9%, bringing its total decline
for the week to nearly 9%.
Shares of cruise operators Carnival Corp CCL.N and Royal
Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL.N also slide after Reuters reported
that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump was
considering ways to discourage U.S. travelers from taking
cruises. Carnival shares were last down 3.8%, and Royal
Caribbean shares were last 4.2% lower. "The decline today is all about the efforts to contain the
spread of the virus," said Emily Roland, co-chief investment
strategist at John Hancock Investment Management in Boston. "The
measures being taken could dampen commerce and consumer
activity, and markets are responding to that."
The Cboe Volatility Index .VIX , known as 'Wall Street's
fear gauge,' hit its highest level since August 2015 and was
last trading at 52.4.
Data showing a robust pace of hiring in February largely
went ignored in Friday's trading, given the data captured little
of the impact from the coronavirus. A sharp downturn in later
economic and corporate earnings data would likely strike a
further blow to U.S. markets, analysts said. "It's proving very difficult right now for market
participants to look through another year of poor global growth
and flat-to-negative earnings," said Peter Cecchini, chief
market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald in New York.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 737.09 points,
or 2.82%, to 25,384.19, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 106.6 points, or
3.53%, to 2,917.34 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
319.82 points, or 3.66%, to 8,418.78.
All 11 S&P sectors were trading lower, led by a 6.5% drop in
energy stocks .SPNY , which tracked a near 8% slump in oil
prices. O/R
Starbucks Corp SBUX.O shares declined 3.1% after the
coffee chain said it expected its China sales to fall by 50% in
stores open for at least a year. Costco Wholesale Corp COST.O shares fell 3.5% as it said
it was struggling to keep up with demand for essentials,
including disinfectants. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
7.53-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 5.88-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted three new 52-week highs and 142 new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 12 new highs and 515 new lows.