US STOCKS-Investors flee Wall Street, seek shelter in bond and gold

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* Banks fall as U.S. Treasury yields hit record lows
* Slump in oil prices drive energy stocks lower
* Travel stocks relieved as traders buy the dip
* Indexes down: Dow 2.63%, S&P 2.72%, Nasdaq 2.42%

(Updates to open)
By Medha Singh and Sanjana Shivdas
March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stock markets tanked and the Dow
Jones Industrials shed more than 800 points on Friday, as the
global tally of coronavirus infections surpassed 100,000 and
jittery investors took cover in the perceived safety of bonds
and gold.
The outbreak, which spread to four new U.S. states on
Thursday, has crippled supply chains and prompted a sharp cut to
global economic growth forecasts for 2020. Yields on long-dated U.S. Treasury notes hit all-time lows,
wiping out the dollar's single greatest attraction for investors
- higher interest rates. US/
That pressured rate-sensitive bank stocks, with the S&P
financial index .SPSY nursing some of the biggest losses among
the major sub-sectors. The banking sub-index .SPXBK was down
4.1%, bringing its total decline for the week to over 7%.
"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.
Starbucks Corp SBUX.O fell 4% after signaling a business
hit due to fewer customers at its Chinese stores, while Costco
Wholesale Corp COST.O was off 2% as it said it was struggling
to keep up with demand for essentials, including disinfectants.
Despite the Federal Reserve's attempt to shore up financial
markets by slashing interest rates, Wall Street's fear gauge
.VIX marked its sharpest ever increase this quarter and the
benchmark S&P 500 .SPX looked set to close out the week over
13% below its record close on Feb. 19.
On Friday, investors also looked past data showing a robust
pace of hiring in February, underscoring the panic around the
potential end of the longest U.S. economic expansion on record.
At 10:18 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 686.74 points, or 2.63%, at 25,434.54, while the S&P
500 .SPX was down 82.16 points, or 2.72%, at 2,941.78. The
Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 211.56 points, or 2.42%, at
8,527.04.
All 11 S&P sectors were trading lower, led by a 5.2% drop in
energy stocks .SPNY , which tracked a slump in oil prices.
O/R
Travel related stocks, which have been battered in the past
month on crippled demand, as traders bought the dip and Bank of
America upgraded ratings for their European peers.
The S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMAIR rose 3.6%, but was
still on course to end Friday with its third straight weekly
decline.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 8.16-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 4.48-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded two new 52-week highs and 135 new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded eight new highs and 415 new
lows.