US STOCKS-Dow falls 600 points to start second quarter as virus anxiety grows

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* S&P 500, Dow coming off worst first quarter ever
* Officials project jump in U.S. coronavirus deaths
* All 11 major S&P 500 sectors in the red
* Indexes slide: Dow 2.63%, S&P 2.97%, Nasdaq 2.34%

(Updates to late morning)
By Uday Sampath Kumar and Medha Singh
April 1 (Reuters) - The Dow Jones fell 600 points on
Wednesday as investors fled to safe-haven assets after new
orders for U.S.-made goods plunged to an 11-year low and the
White House issued a dire warning on the U.S. death toll from
the coronavirus pandemic.
The blue-chip Dow and the S&P 500 were set to extend losses
entering into the second quarter, as efforts to contain the
outbreak resulted in deserted shopping streets, massive staff
furloughs and a halt in business activity.
Meanwhile, the collapse in oil prices brought about its
first major casualty, with shale producer Whiting Petroleum
WLL.N filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Its shares
nearly halved in value. Companies on the benchmark index have lost about $6.3
trillion in market value so far this year, even as major
governments and central banks have announced trillions of
dollars in measures to thwart a global recession.
Goldman Sachs now expects sequential real U.S. GDP to
plummet 34% in the second quarter on an annualized basis.
"People are concerned with the economic reality of both the
depth as well as the duration of what this episode will be for
the global economy," said Eric Freedman, chief investment
officer at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in North Carolina.
"There is room for further downside and we are still
advocating for caution."
The rush to safer assets pushed longer-term yields on U.S.
Treasuries lower, putting pressure on interest-sensitive bank
stocks .SPXBK , which fell 6.4%. The financials sector was the
biggest drag on the S&P 500. US/
Consumer staples .SPLRCS stocks, utilities .SPLRCU and
real estate .SPLRCR , which are considered stable during times
of extreme volatility, also fell between 1% and 7%.
With the quarterly reporting season set to begin in two
weeks, S&P 500 companies are expected to enter an earnings
recession in 2020, falling 3.7% in the first quarter and 9.6% in
the second.
However, some analysts expressed optimism.
"This will take some time to overcome, but markets will rise
in the second quarter on expectations of economic data sharply
improving in the second half of 2020," said Barry Bannister,
head of institutional equity strategy at Stifel Financial in
Baltimore.
At 11:36 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 575.69 points, or 2.63%, at 21,341.47, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 76.78 points, or 2.97%, at 2,507.81 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 180.05 points, or 2.34%, at 7,520.05.
The energy sector .SPNY shed another 3.6%, with experts
now saying oil prices could touch single digits, exacerbated by
a share tussle among top producers as the world runs out of
storage space. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 7.88-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 4.78-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded one new 52-week high and nine new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded six new highs and 41 new lows.