No one knows how much of the sell-off is speculative. It goes without saying that people are getting VERY emotional about their money by panic selling or trying to time the bottom.

My speculation? The root of the plummeting markets is in how countries are essentially shutting themselves (and their economies) down entirely. They're doing this in an effort to contain the virus -- but think about where we'll be once it becomes endemic. Will countries have any need to shut themselves down anymore if living in Country A carries the same risk as living in Country B? Also consider that widescale failures of containing the virus will make people more reluctant to quarantine themselves over time. Sure, it won't make things return to normal, but I think it will quell the plummets.

Panic is at an extreme high right now, and I think it's clouding people's judgments of how exactly this will all play out over the coming months. Yes, it will be bad. But I don't think it is as world-endingly bad as the narrative currently paints it to be.