US stocks reverse opening gains

US stocks fell in mid-day trading Tuesday, erasing early opening gains and raising questions about the market's recovery following Monday's 2000-point drop, the largest one-day decline since the 2008 financial crisis.

Stocks opened strongly, boosting the Dow Jones Industrial Average by nearly 1,000 points after the opening bell. But the early gains faded throughout the morning and the blue chip index fell into the red.

Volatility remains. After turning negative, the Dow and other indexes bounced back into positive territory and then turned negative again.

At noon, the DJIA was down 78.63 points, or 0.33 percent. The S&P 500, a broader index of the market's performance, was down 0.02 percent after turning negative. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.36 percent.

The up-and-down of the market suggests risky assets are in the middle of a recovery that may take days or weeks to play out, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The market is spooked by the possibility that the coronavirus will disrupt supply chains and cause extensive economic damage.

An economic slowdown would make many stocks overpriced.

White House officials plan to meet with members of Congress to discuss ways to soften the anticipated blow to the economy, including a payroll-tax cut.

However, airline stocks rose after many companies said they had cut more domestic and international flights as demand fell. United Airlines gained about 2.3 percent. American Airlines rose 1.7 percent. But Delta declined 2.3 percent.