Wall Street extends recent selloff, Dow all but erases 'Trump-bump'

Trump's request for Congress to approve $500 billion in cash payments to taxpayers along with $50 billion in loans for airlines did little to stem the rout

US stocks deepened their selloff on Wednesday and the Dow effectively erased the last of its gains since U.S. President Donald Trump's 2017 inauguration, as repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic threatened to cripple economic activity.

The benchmark S&P 500 index ended off of its lows of the session but still down 5.2%, extending the recent plunge that ended Wall Street's longest-ever bull run. The S&P 500 is now down about 29% from its Feb. 19 record closing high.

With airports and hotels emptying and airlines asking staff to take unpaid leave to stem losses, the S&P 1500 airlines index sank 20.8%. Shares