Previously, on March 9, March 12, and March 16, the U.S. stock market had plummeted and circuit breaker three times. In these three days, the Dow Jones index fell by 7.8%, 10.0%, and 12.9% respectively, each time falling more severely.

"The magical year of 2020, we are witnessing history together with the stock gods."

The panic caused by the new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic is still spreading, U.S. stocks fluctuated lower after opening sharply lower on Wednesday, and then the decline expanded and triggered the fourth circuit breaker this month, that is, The fifth meltdown in history.

On that day, the Dow and S&P 500 index fell 7.82% and 7.01% respectively, triggering the first-level circuit breaker mechanism and the market suspended trading for 15 minutes.

The decline of the three major stock indexes when the US stock market was circuit breaker.

Previously, on March 9, March 12, and March 16, the U.S. stock market had plummeted and circuit breaker three times. In these three days, the Dow Jones Index fell by 7.8%, 10.0%, and 12.9% respectively, each falling more severely than the last. .

Now, some people are beginning to rack their brains to think of how to reduce the number of circuit breakers.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) stated on the 17th that the circuit breaker mechanism of the U.S. stock market may be adjusted. It is recommended that the circuit breaker mechanism of the U.S. stock market be adjusted to only a 7% and 13% drop limit, and requires the ETF market to abide by the same circuit breaker rules. Narrow the price gap between the ETF market and other markets and alleviate the surge in market trading volume at the beginning of the trading day.

Historically, the US stock circuit breaker mechanism has been modified. On May 31, 2012, the New York Stock Exchange modified the index circuit breaker mechanism . First, the S&P 500 Index replaced the Dow Jones Index as the circuit breaker benchmark index; second, it changed The fuse threshold is modified to three levels: 7%, 13% and 20%.

There is no result yet on whether the U.S. stock market circuit breaker rules will be revised. Netizens have already started a series of jokes:

html On March 8, Buffett : I have lived to be 89 years old and have only seen a U.S. stock market circuit breaker.

html March 9, Buffett: I have lived to be 89 years old and have only seen two US stock market meltdowns.

html March 12, Buffett: I have lived to be 89 years old and have only seen three meltdowns in the US stock market.

html On March 16, Buffett: I have lived to be 89 years old and have only seen four meltdowns in the US stock market. I am too young...

html On March 18, I...

"Buffett said that he has only seen five meltdowns in his lifetime. I realized it in 10 days Four times, it seems that I am better than the stock god..."

On March 13, local time, US President Trump declared a "national emergency" at the White House to respond to the new coronavirus epidemic. The picture shows Deborah Birx, White House COVID-19 coordinator, introducing the testing process at a press conference. Photo by China News Service reporter Chen Mengtong

At present, the epidemic situation in the United States continues to be "tight". After the first case was confirmed in West Virginia, all 50 states in the country have "fallen". According to CNN, data from national and local health agencies, governments, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that there have been 7,111 cases of COVID-19 in the United States and a total of 117 deaths from COVID-19.

At a press conference on the 16th, US President Trump said that the worst-case scenario is that the new coronavirus epidemic may end in July or August or later. When asked "whether the U.S. economy is headed for recession," Trump responded "possibly," which was the first time he acknowledged the dire consequences that the outbreak could bring.

New York Stock Exchange closes trading floor

After the US stock market closed, New York Stock Exchange said on Wednesday that due to the impact of the new coronavirus epidemic, it will temporarily close the trading floor and completely switch to electronic trading.

The exchange said that fully electronic trading will begin next Monday (March 23). Facilities that will close include the NYSE Equity Trading Floor and Options Trading Floor in New York, and the NYSE Arca Options Trading Floor in San Francisco.

This will also be the first time in the 227-year history of the New York Stock Exchange that market transactions are maintained while the trading floor is closed. CME Group closed its trading floor in Chicago last week.

NYSE President Stacey Cunningham said in a statement: "While we are taking precautions to close the trading floor, we continue to believe that markets should remain open and accessible to investors. Despite the closure of the trading floor , but all New York Stock Exchange markets will still operate during regular trading hours. "

Cunningham previously said: "The Stock Exchange is a symbol of strength, and that is why we have remained open."New York Stock Exchange Vice Chairman Tuttle also added: "No matter rain or shine, the bells on the trading floor are always ringing. This is the sacred 40 square feet in the financial world. "

Affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, last Friday, the New York Stock Exchange conducted its first comprehensive "deep cleaning" since its opening in 1903. The entire process took 8 hours and involved a total of 10 professional cleaning staff. According to reports, This deep cleaning program is repeated weekly and will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per month.

Previously, the NYSE shut down. The closure of the trading floor can be traced back to Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which caused a large-scale power outage in downtown Manhattan and caused the U.S. stock market to be closed for two days. The time went back to 20 years ago, and the U.S. economy was suspended for four days after the September 11 incident. How far is it?

The U.S. stock market crashed one after another in a short period of time. Trump, who has always supported the U.S. economy, had to bow his head and admit that the U.S. economy may fall into recession. At the White House press conference on the 16th, he looked solemn and called the new crown pneumonia epidemic an "invisible enemy" of the United States. , it may last until July or August or even later.

The epidemic has hit and the U.S. economy has been pushed to a crash. On the edge of the cliff?

This is an electronic display of the New York Stock Exchange in the United States taken on March 16. new Guidelines recommend that the public work or study from home as much as possible; avoid gatherings of more than 10 people; avoid dining in bars, restaurants or food courts; and avoid casual travel, shopping and social activities.

Local governments have also introduced stricter measures. For example, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut announce curfews between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. ; The city of San Francisco requires residents to stay at home and not go out unless absolutely necessary.

Capital Washington, Los Angeles and other cities have announced the closure of all bars, nightclubs, movie theaters, stadiums and other public entertainment facilities, and require restaurants to only provide takeout services.

Major sports leagues in the United States also announced the suspension of events to avoid Avoid crowd gatherings.

Affected by these policies, the streets of Washington are much deserted. Although the annual cherry blossom season is approaching, the celebrations of the Cherry Blossom Festival have been postponed or canceled due to the epidemic, and restaurant reservations and occupancy have been significantly reduced. , theater box office revenue has plummeted, and stories of small business owners struggling to make ends meet frequently appear in the newspapers.

On March 15, in New York, the United States, part of the dining area of ​​a McDonald's restaurant was closed in response to the state government's request to reduce dining density. The negative impacts gradually emerged. The latest survey by

shows that manufacturing activity in New York State has declined in March, and the overall business conditions index has dropped to a new low since 2009. Economist Ian Shepherdson commented on this, "The manufacturing industry is back in recession."

In order to hedge against the impact of the epidemic on the economy, Trump recently announced the release of US$50 billion in funds to help states and local governments respond to the epidemic.

The Federal Reserve has made two consecutive emergency interest rate cuts since this month, lowering the federal funds rate to an ultra-low level close to zero and launching a US$700 billion quantitative easing policy, restarting the unconventional policy tools used during the 2008 international financial crisis.

However, investors are not buying it due to concerns that these measures are far from enough.

Driven by this concern, the New York stock market plummeted after opening on the 16th, triggering the circuit breaker mechanism for the third time in a week. At the close, all three major stock indexes plummeted by more than 11%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit its lowest level since "Black Monday" in 1987. largest single-day decline.

html Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange in the United States on March 17. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Guo Ke)

How far is the United States from recession?

When talking to American experts about the economy, they had different attitudes.

According to the most optimistic expectations, the U.S. economy may bottom out later this year.

Barry Bosworth, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, believes that the U.S. economy will see a V-shaped rebound in the third quarter after a deep contraction in the second quarter.

Wells Fargo senior economist Sam Bullard believes that the U.S. economy will experience a deep but short recession in the second and third quarters and slowly recover before the end of this year.

also has a relatively pessimistic view that the US economic recession and even the global economic recession caused by the US economic recession are inevitable.

Desmond Lachman, a researcher at the American Enterprise Institute, pointed out that the epidemic may trigger the bursting of bubbles in global stock and credit markets, thereby causing a recession in the U.S. economy and the global economy.

Well-known experts, including former White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Alan Blinder, believe that the U.S. economy may have entered a recession.

Former White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett who served in the Trump administration even boldly speculated that the epidemic may trigger a global economic recession, and the United States may lose up to 1 million jobs in April.

Comprehensive: Shanghai Securities News, China News Network, Xinhua News Agency, etc.