Why Steel Stocks Are Sagging Today

"The markets are sending a message about coronavirus: The recession risk is real."

So opined the venerable The Washington Post this morning, and if the coronavirus news wasn't bad enough already -- and a collapse in oil prices on top of it -- this surely would have been the straw to break the steel industry's back.

This afternoon, shares of Nucor (NYSE: NUE) are down 11.5% as of 2 p.m. EDT, and shares of archrival U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) are right down there with 'em -- 11%. European steel stock ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) has just plain collapsed -- down 18.7%, as have Brazil's Gerdau S.A. (NYSE: GGB) and Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (NYSE: SID), down 17% and 22.25, respectively.