NEW YORK, Jan 27 — Wall Street stocks tumbled early today, joining a global selloff amid rising fears over the widening coronavirus outbreak in China.
About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen 1.4 per cent, or more than 400 points, to 28,584.81.
The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.4 per cent to 3,248.82, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.8 per cent to 9,147.69.
The losses marked the start of a heavy week of economic news, with earnings reports from Apple, Boeing and Exxon Mobil and a Federal Reserve policy meeting.
As of today, more than 2,700 people have been infected with the respiratory ailment across China, with several confirmed cases elsewhere in Asia, Europe and North America.
The World Health Organisation today said the global risk from the deadly virus in China was “high” — correcting an earlier statement labelling the risk as only “moderate.”
The decline on Wall Street came in parallel with deep losses in equity markets in Europe and Asia and a drop in prices for commodities tied to Chinese economic growth such as copper and oil.
Analysts at Oxford Economics said the outbreak “poses a notable downside risk to our China growth forecast in Q1 and possibly Q2, depending on its severity.”
Losses on Wall Street were broad-based, with almost all 30 Dow members in the red.
Multinationals with significant China operations were hard-hit, with Apple shedding 2.3 per cent, Nike 2.7 per cent and Starbucks 3.4 per cent.
Travel stocks also took a beating. United Airlines dropped 4.8 per cent, Marriott International shed 3.2 per cent and Wynn Resorts slumped 6.0 per cent.
Wynn operates two resorts in gambling center Macau, where there have been six confirmed coronavirus cases. — AFP
