Wall Street slips as New York toughens up on coronavirus spread

Wall Street erased early gains to fall 1% on Friday, as the state of New York ordered all non-essential workers to stay home to curtail the spread of the coronavirus pandemic that has fueled the worst monthly rout in U.S. equities in three decades. California had earlier asked 40 million people to stay indoors as the U.S. death toll from the outbreak topped 200 people. New York state also pleaded for more medical personnel and supplies to treat the virus cases that could overwhelm hospitals. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq had eked out gains in early trading as global policymakers turned on all the taps to prop up financial markets after four weeks of steep declines ended a record 11-year bull run for Wall Street. The airlines sector. SPCOMAIR rose 2% after losing more than half its value since late February. Investors are now counting on further easing in the next few days, as the Senate mulls a $1 trillion package that would include direct financial help for Americans.