US STOCKS-Wall St losses broaden with no clarity on coronavirus impact

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* Fed says economy is ok but would provide appropriate
support
* Dow drops 1,000 points third time this week
* Financials lead losses among S&P sectors
* Indexes down: Dow 3.02%, S&P 2.49%, Nasdaq 1.86%

(Updates to late afternoon, adds commentary, New York dateline,
changes byline)
By Sinéad Carew
New York, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes
tumbled for the seventh straight day and were on track for their
biggest weekly dip since the 2008 global financial crisis on
worries the fast-spreading coronavirus could lead to a
recession.
However, stocks pared losses slightly after the U.S. Federal
Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the fundamentals of the U.S.
economy remained strong and that the central bank will act as
appropriate to provide support. Investors were dumping equities and moving to the safety of
U.S. Treasuries, pushing 10-year yields to their fourth record
low so far this week. US/ The three indexes had closed more than 10% below their
recent record closing highs on Thursday, confirming a correction
and the S&P's fastest in its history.
"You're almost fishing blind here, trying to make good
decisions," said Jeff Kravetz, regional investment strategist at
U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Scottsdale, Ariz.
As well as waiting for new information about the spread of
coronavirus, investors were looking for data showing its
economic impact, Kravetz said: "That's when analysts are going
to be able to say they can start readjusting their models for
earnings."
At 3:03 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
fell 777.34 points, or 3.02%, to 24,989.3, the S&P 500 .SPX
lost 74.28 points, or 2.49%, to 2,904.48 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC dropped 158.96 points, or 1.86%, to 8,407.52.
At its lowest point in the session the Dow Jones Industrials
.DJI slumped more than 1,000 points. If the average closes
below this level, it would be its fifth 1,000-point decline in
history and the third this week.
Rate-sensitive banks .SPXBK were down 3.5% and the
financial sector weighed the most on the benchmark S&P 500
index. Utilities .SPLRCU , real estate .SPLRCR and Consumer
Staples .SPLRCS - other rate-sensitive sectors that are often
seen as safe-havens - were the weakest performers on the day.
"Watching the close today will be a very good sign whether
this market is establishing a temporary bottom ... if it doesn't
fall off a cliff like the last two Fridays, that'll be a sign
it's established a short-term bottom," said Ernesto Ramos,
Managing Director, Active Equities at BMO Global Asset
Management in Chicago.
"If it spills into the close that's a bad sign of more pain
to come."
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
5.56-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.95-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 128 new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 16 new highs and 509 new lows.