Trading on the stock exchanges in New York was again briefly halted on Wednesday after significant losses in a short time.

It is the fourth time in a short time that this emergency brake has been applied. Concerns about the coronavirus continue to dominate global markets. Oil prices have also fallen further.

The broad S&P 500 index recorded over 7 percent in the min around 6 p.m. (Dutch time), which automatically halted trading for 15 minutes. Then the gauge dropped further.

This mechanism was instituted after the major stock market crash of 1987. If the S&P falls 13 percent, another fifteen-minute break follows. With a drop of 20 percent, trading is suspended for the day.

After the resumption of trade, the indicators dropped further. Around 6:30 p.m., a 7.6 percent price loss was recorded at 2338 points. The leading Dow-Jones index lost 8.5 percent to 19,419 points, and tech exchange Nasdaq lost 6.6 percent to 6,850 points.

The turmoil in the oil market also continued unabated. Oil prices fell to their lowest level in years. A barrel of American oil became 17.4 percent cheaper at $ 22.24.

Brent oil cost 11 percent less at $ 25.56 a barrel. In addition to the corona crisis, the oil markets have been under the spell of the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia for days.

Oil and gas producers ExxonMobil and Chevron were down more than 12 percent. Other large companies also recorded significant losses, including technology group Apple and car manufacturer Tesla. They lost over 4 and almost 16 percent respectively.

Aircraft builder Boeing nearly lost 25 percent. In the past two days, Boeing’s price has already plummeted 27 percent due to the virus in the aviation sector. Boeing has asked the United States government for billions of euros to endure the slump. Airlines like American Airlines and Delta Air Lines lost up to 37 percent.

Furthermore, car concern Ford announced that it would temporarily shut down all its factories in the United States, Canada and Mexico due to the coronavirus. The share fell by 35 percent.

The euro was $ 1.0812, down from $ 1.0814 when the European stock markets closed earlier today.