Stocks Opened Sharply Lower after Trump Warns

U.S. stocks open sharply lower on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump warned that a “very, very painful” two weeks are ahead as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately dropped 694.58 points, or 3.17%, to 21,222.58. The S&P 500 retreated 84.22 points, or 3.26%, to 2,500.37. the Nasdaq Composite fell 203.14 points, or 2.64%, to 7,496.95.

Oil futures traded lower Wednesday, beginning April on a sour note as the COVID-19 pandemic destroys demand and a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia promises to flood the world with unneeded crude. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery fell 12 cents, or 0.6%, to $20.36 a barrel, while June Brent crude dropped 86 cents, or 3.3%, to $25.49 a barrel.

Private-sector employers eliminated jobs in March as the economy shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a new report released Wednesday. The report which uses Automatic Data Processing Inc. data in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics, found that 27,000 jobs were lost in the month.