NEW YORK (AFP) -- Wall Street stocks suffered a second straight rout Tuesday, with losses picking up after US health officials warned the virus was likely to hit the world's biggest economy.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 27,083.46, down 3.1 percent and about 875 points.

The broad-based S&P 500 sank 3.0 percent to 3,128.51, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 2.8 percent to 8,965.61.

The losses were slightly more modest than Monday, when the Dow shed more than 1,000 points. (AFP)