It's been just waiting for a reason to plunge. It needs to remind us of our complacency.
We get a global crisis situation like this new virus and money gets jealous. Hey, don't forget me, I am still number 1!
There are several points worth reiterating:
The stock market was due some sort of structural adjustment; many economists believed a 10%+ downward move was not only likely, but necessary.
Beyond the 10% adjustment, most of what we are seeing is panic movement. An announced vaccine for the coronavirus and/or some agreement on OPEC output will result in a rather sharp uptick in the market.
Having spent my career in the oil and gas industry, I worry about even a short-term fall in oil prices. The shale oil production which has contributed significantly to the US economy, job growth and production output has a break-even price around $50/bbl is underwater. My experience suggests the oil industry is quick to turn down spending (with a corresponding drop in production), but much slower to rebound when prices move upward sharply.
The reasons for this are understandable: employees leave the industry in bad times and a significant percentage of experienced employees never return; the drilsame oncegoes lingfor the small independent producer. Once rigs are stacked and facilities placed in cold storage, the return to "normal" business is typically slow - classic hysteresis effect.
Bottom line, the market will recovery, some industries faster than others. Ride it out if you can
