US STOCKS-Investors flee Wall Street, seek shelter in bonds

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* Banks fall as U.S. Treasury yields hit record lows
* Slump in oil prices drive energy stocks lower
* Indexes down: Dow 2.25%, S&P 2.73%, Nasdaq 2.81%

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By Medha Singh and Sanjana Shivdas
March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stock markets tumbled on Friday as
fears of economic damage intensified with the global tally of
coronavirus cases crossing 100,000, sending investors scurrying
to the perceived safety of bonds.
The Dow Jones Industrials shed more than 500 points and the
S&P 500 .SPX fell for the tenth time in the past 12 sessions
as the virus crippled supply chains and prompted a sharp cut to
global economic growth forecasts for 2020. Shares of cruise line operators Carnival Corp CCL.N and
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL.N fell more than 3% after a
report the Trump administration was considering ways to
discourage U.S. travelers from taking cruises. The rest of the travel sector gained as bargain hunters
picked up battered shares of airlines and hotel operators. The
S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMAIR was up 1.8%, but was still
on course to end Friday with its third straight weekly decline.
"The sentiment is that we don't have (the virus) under
control and we don't know or understand how much worse things
can get," said Keith Buchanan, senior portfolio manager at
Globalt.
Yields on long-dated U.S. Treasury notes hit all-time lows
as traders bet on further monetary easing by the Federal Reserve
after a surprise interest rate cut on Tuesday. 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
4.7%, bringing its total decline for the week to over 7%.
Starbucks Corp SBUX.O fell 1.9% after signaling a business
hit due to fewer customers at its Chinese stores, while Costco
Wholesale Corp COST.O was off 3% as it said it was struggling
to keep up with demand for essentials, including disinfectants.
"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.
On Friday, investors looked past data showing a robust pace
of hiring in February, underscoring fears of a potential end to
the longest U.S. economic expansion on record. 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.
At 11:50 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 588.90 points, or 2.25%, at 25,532.38, and the S&P 500
.SPX was down 82.56 points, or 2.73%, at 2,941.38. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 245.22 points, or 2.81%, at 8,493.38.
All 11 S&P sectors were trading lower, led by a 5.3% drop in
energy stocks .SPNY , which tracked a slump in oil prices.
O/R
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 6.60-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 4.20-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded two new 52-week highs and 138 new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded nine new highs and 438 new lows.