Stocks’ Covid Angst Takes Violent Turn After Simmering for Days

  • S&P 500 drops 3% Wednesday amid growing coronavirus worries
  • Signs the market was growing concerned had persisted for weeks
People stand on Pier 39 in San Francisco on June 22.Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
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First the animal spirits left the building. Now everyone’s heading for the exit in the stock market.

It’s a story that has been brewing under the surface for days: simmering skepticism that the coronavirus crisis was anywhere near under control. Conspicuously, starting a couple weeks ago, automated tech stocks were back on top -- a reliable sign of worry among an investor class that earlier this month was willing to buy anything it saw.