US STOCKS-U.S. stocks plunge on dire economic forecasts and pandemic resurgence

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* Banks extend slide as Fed sees rates near zero until 2022
* Travel-related stocks plummet
* Boeing down >10%, weighing heaviest on the Dow
* Indexes fall: Dow 5.61%, S&P 4.79%, Nasdaq 3.96%

(Updates to late afternoon, changes dateline, byline)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, June 11 (Reuters) - Wall Street tumbled in a broad
sell-off on Thursday, with the Dow plunging well over 5%, as a
cautionary economic forecast from the U.S. Federal Reserve and
the prospect of a possible resurgence of COVID-19 infections put
investors in risk-off mode.
The S&P 500 and the Dow were on course for their worst day
since March 18, when markets were shocked by the abrupt economic
lockdowns put in place to curb the coronavirus pandemic. The
Nasdaq was set to snap a three-day streak of record closing
highs.
Everything's for sale," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment
strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York. "There's fear we're
near a top."
"The chatter today is back on the virus and the potential
for a second wave of the virus," he said.
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. Economic data appeared to back up the Fed's dour 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.
"The (economic) data points are so far away from consensus,
it's hard to say we're headed in the right direction," said Paul
Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in
Chicago. "We're going to have fits and starts, and it won't be a
smooth ride until the end of the year."
The CBOE volatility index .VIX , a barometer of investor
anxiety, hit its highest level since May 14.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 1,514.08
points, or 5.61%, to 25,475.91, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 152.93
points, or 4.79%, to 3,037.21 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC
dropped 396.55 points, or 3.96%, to 9,623.80.
All 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 were in the red, with
energy .SPNY and financials .SPSY suffering the largest
percentage drops.
Interest rate-sensitive banks .SPXBK slipped 8.3%, 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.
The S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMAIR tumbled 10.9%, while
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH.N and Royal Caribbean
Cruises Ltd RCL.N dropped 15.4% and 11.4%, respectively.
Boeing Co BA.N shed 10.7% 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. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
18.02-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 12.27-to-1 ratio favored
decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 4 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 18 new highs and eight new lows.