In the early afternoon, The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by almost three percent - or 849 points - as a sell-off on Wall Street quickened amid persistent fears over the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.
The S&P 500 ($SPX) lost 2.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) shed 2.3%.
"With the news of the last three or four days, it's hard to be optimistic," said Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Services.
Stocks continued to fall Tuesday, as major indices saw at least a three percent slump on Monday on news about new cases of the deadly virus. On Monday, stocks plunged amid reports of a spike in new coronavirus cases in Italy and South Korea, with the Dow falling over 1,000 points for only the third time in its history.
On Tuesday, an official with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the quarantine and travel regime has proven successful in tackling the spread of the virus, but noted that the agency expects a rise in new cases.
Many US companies, including Mastercard and United Airlines, bracing for financial losses, warned that the outbreak will hurt their financial bottom line as travel-related stocks took another drubbing, bringing a two-day loss for American Airlines to 6 percent.
The Chinese-origin outbreak has so far infected over 80,000 people globally, Europe and the Middle East leading in new cases.
China is leading with fatalities, with over 2,700 people confirmed dead, but the fast-spreading virus has shaken markets and prompted panic over fears of a global economy slowdown.
