Stresses build up on Wall Street in week that felt like eternity

Trading volumes were overwhelming. In the U.S. stock market, more than 19 billion shares changed hands on Friday -- the most since October 2008 -- marking a record in dollar terms of about $1 trillion. Some 20.7 million eurodollar options contracts traded over four days, when normally 1.5 million change hands on a good day.

NEW YORK: Alex Manzara’s normal routine involves helping clients prepare for what’s coming next in markets.

This week, however, the veteran derivatives broker at R.J. O’Brien & Associates found himself making a different kind of calculation: how much food to stockpile in case the swiftly spreading coronavirus triggers a run on Chicago-area grocery stores like it has in Hong Kong and Italy.

"If you have food for three weeks, you’re OK, ” he concluded, assessing his stash of canned goods, rice, pasta and a case of three-liter cans of olive oil.