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| - Wall Street stocks were deeply negative again at midday Monday as the economic toll from the coronavirus outbreak mounts and lawmakers wrangle over stimulus measures. Shortly after noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3.8 percent, or 725 points, at 18,449.75. The broad-based S&P 500 plunged 3.8 percent to 2,218.03, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 2.2 percent to 6,730.06. The deep declines came as Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill haggled over terms of a multi-trillion dollar Senate proposal to stimulate the economy that was blocked late Sunday on a procedural vote. "The Senate's failure to pass a rescue package for the economy yesterday is the clearest catalyst for this morning's ugly market reaction," said Chris Low of FHN Financial. "Whether it's called a bailout or a rescue, it's the government's responsibility to step up and not just keep as many people employed as possible, but also keep financial panic at bay." Last week saw US indices suffer their worst week since 2008 amid forecasts of a deep US and global economic contraction due to mass layoffs as business activity shuts down due to the coronavirus. On Monday, General Electric announced that GE Aviation will cut about 10 percent of its total US workforce, while leading hotel chains furloughed thousands of additional workers. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday he would meet with leaders of both parties later in the day to advance a multi-trillion dollar Senate proposal after the measure was halted in a procedural vote Sunday night. "My message is this needs to get done today," Mnuchin told CNBC. Warning of severe economic disruptions due to the virus, the Fed announced it will buy unlimited amounts of US Treasury debt -- essentially printing money for the economy -- as well as new steps to lend directly to small- and medium-sized companies that have been among the hardest-hit as economic activity dries up. The Fed said it also plans to soon announce a "Main Street Business Lending Program," and pledged it "will continue to use it full range of tools to support the flow of credit to households and businesses." Monday was the first session since the New York Stock Exchange suspended floor trading due to the coronavirus outbreak, pushing all transactions onto electronic platforms. jmb/cs
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