Coronavirus: New York State reports a higher than expected rise in infections, hospitalizations

-- more to come

Earlier in the day, Spain reported its grimmest day yet, with 738 new deaths reaching a total of 3,434, surpassing Wuhan in China, where Covid-19 originated from. Italy is set to publish new figures shortly. 

Stocks are mixed on Wednesday after staging a massive recovery on Tuesday. The US Senate agreed on a stimulus bill worth some $2 trillion.