Stocks are on track for the worst week since the financial crisis

US stocks faced another sharp selloff on Thursday as worries about coronavirus mounted, with the three main indexes dragged into correction territory and on track for their worst week since the financial crisis.

The Dow fell up to 960 points Thursday before bouncing back a bit and briefly re-emerging from correction territory. The index has fallen more than 10% below its most recent peak, putting it in correction, and was down 700 points, or 2.6%, mid-afternoon.

Similarly, the S&P 500 briefly bounced back from the worst of its selloff but slipped back into a correction. The index was down 2.4% in the mid-afternoon. It is now close to the 3,000 point mark. Breaching it could inspire yet more selling.

Both indexes are on track for their worst week since the fall of 2008, the midst of the financial crisis.

The Nasdaq Composite also bounced back from morning lows around midday, but fell back into correction in the early afternoon. The index, which was the only major stock index to end Wednesday in the green, was down 2.7% in the mid-afternoon, more than 10% below its latest peak.

Stocks have been selling off around the world all week as investors fret about the spread of the virus.

the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 also fell into correction territory Thursday. This is the market’s first correction since December 2018.

Stocks are still some ways away from a bear market, which is defined as 20% or more below the most recent peak.

Still, safe haven investments like bonds are up on Thursday and the 10-year US Treasury yield fell to a new all-time below 1.29% before bouncing back. Bond yields and prices move in opposition to each other.

In the energy space, US oil prices fell yet again as investors worries about a drop in demand. US oil futures settled down 3.4% at $47.09 a barrel.

Worries about the coronavirus outbreak mounted this week, with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying it expects cases in the United States to rise. The virus has now infected more than 82,000 people worldwide, with the vast majority of cases in China.

Corporations continue to warn that they won’t meet their first quarter earnings targets. Microsoft announced that late Wednesday. Goldman Sachs said in a report Thursday that it now thinks US companies will generate zero earnings in 2020.

“What’s even more disconcerting is that the news headlines haven’t been all that bad yet,” said Paul Hickey of Bespoke Investment Group. “Right now, it’s the fear of what could happen that’s driving the markets rather than what is actually happening.”

Indeed, the US economy is thought to be relatively more resilient against the effects of the virus as it is not as reliant on trade as its peers. The second reading of fourth quarter GDP left growth unchanged at 2.1%.