Dow loses another 1,300 points | Oil's 3rd worst day ever | Bill Ackman's dire warning

The coronavirus pandemic continues to shake markets with extreme volatility.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE WED, MAR 18, 2020 EVENING BRIEF AS OF WED, MAR 18, 2020 • 05:15 ET DJIA 19898.92 -6.30% -1338.46 S&P 500 2398.10 -5.18% -131.09 NASDAQ 6989.84 -4.70% -344.94   Most Active DOW NAME LAST CHG %CHG MSFT 140.40 -6.17 -4.21% AAPL 246.67 -6.19 -2.45% BA 101.89 -22.25 -17.92% S&P 500 NAME LAST CHG %CHG BAC 20.79 -1.19 -5.41% GE 6.60 -0.48 -6.78% F 4.50 -0.51 -10.18% NASDAQ NAME LAST CHG %CHG AMD 39.12 -2.76 -6.59% MSFT 140.40 -6.17 -4.21% AAL 11.65 -3.93 -25.22% EDITOR'S NOTE It's up, it's down, it's up - but mostly just down.   The coronavirus pandemic has generated wild swings in the stock market that trip circuit breakers and halt trading - which happened again just before 1 p.m. on Wednesday.   Sector by sector, the economy is grinding to a near halt. On Wednesday, General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler announced plans to temporarily close their plants - joining many other businesses limiting or shuttering their operations.   The daily march of  terrifying headlines has brought a tsunami of volatility to the stock market, with huge moves every day.     Beyond volatility, the direction is clearly down. CNBC's Tom Franck writes that all of the gains since his inauguration that President Donald Trump has touted had evaporated at one point in Wednesday's session.   Renowned investor Bill Ackman took to CNBC on Wednesday with a solution: Shut the country down for 30 days and give the virus a chance to die. Anything short of that will continue to generate dire consequences, the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management said.   "America will end as we know it, I'm sorry to say so, unless we take this option."     Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world. Al Lewis | CNBC Markets Editor @tellittoal TOP NEWS  Dow tumbles 1,300 points as fears about economic damage from coronavirus grow Oil falls 24% in 3rd worst day on record, sinks to more than 18-year low Dow briefly wipes out gains under Trump's presidency, still slightly positive since his election 'Hell is coming' — Bill Ackman has dire warning for Trump, CEOs if drastic measures aren't taken now NYSE to temporarily close floor, move to electronic trading after positive coronavirus tests An oil price war is here to stay, analysts warn — even as prices tumble to nearly two-decade lows General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler to close all US factories due to the coronavirus, sources say Coronavirus live updates: Hotels see occupancy drop, kids are at risk, markets continue fall Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen are urging the Fed to go beyond authority and buy corporate bonds Mnuchin vows to prevent 20% unemployment in coronavirus response     TOP VIDEO Watch CNBC's full interview with billionaire investor Bill Ackman on coronavirus outbreak   CNBC PRO Watch the full interview with Bill Miller on the coronavirus collapse, Amazon and other picks   SPECIAL REPORTS 'Sit tight and stay away from the options market,' says options strategist Boeing on track for worst month ever, and strategist lays out dangerous path ahead   Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2020 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS