S&P 500 plunges to 3,100, down more than 2.5%

• S&P 500 opened deep in the negative territory.
• Intense flight to safety is weighing on US stocks on Thursday.
• Energy shares fall sharply on plummeting crude oil prices.

Major equity indexes in the United States opened deep in the negative territory on Thursday with fears over a second wave of coronavirus triggering an intense flight to safety. Reflecting the risk-off environment, the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, was up 16.25% on the day at 32.95, the highest level in nearly a month.

Energy and financial shares plunge on Thursday

As of writing, the S&P 500 Index was down 2.7% on the day at 3,110 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite were losing 2.9% and 2.3%, respectively.

Among the 11-major S&P 500 sectors, the Energy Index is down 6% on the day as the top-decliner pressured by a 6.3% loss in West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices. Meanwhile, the Financials Index and the Industrials Index are both losing more than 4%. The 10-year US Treasury bond yield is falling nearly 8% on Thursday to weigh on financial shares.