Rising Coronavirus Death Toll Contributes To Sell-Off On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Friday, more than offsetting the modest gains posted in the previous session. With the steep drop on the day, the Dow fell to its lowest closing level in well over a month.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained firmly negative. The Dow plummeted 603.41 points or 2.1 percent to 28,256.03, the Nasdaq tumbled 148.00 points or 1.6 percent to 9,150.94 and the S&P 500 plunged 58.14 points or 1.8 percent to 3,225.52.

For the week, the Nasdaq slumped by 1.8 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Dow dove by 2.1 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid lingering concerns about the coronavirus outbreak, as the death toll from the disease continues to rise.

Chinese officials said 213 people have died from the coronavirus, while the number of confirmed cases has risen to more than 9,800.

The U.K. and Russia have also confirmed their first cases of coronavirus infection, raising concerns about the rapid spread of the disease and the impact on the global economy.

Adding to the worries, Delta (DAL) and American Airlines (AAL) recently announced plans to suspend all flights to China as a result of the outbreak.

Stocks turned higher on Thursday after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency but said it wasn't recommending measures that unnecessarily interfere with international trade or travel.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Commerce Department showing personal income increased by slightly more than anticipated in the month of December.

The report said personal income rose by 0.2 percent in December after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.4 percent in November.

Economists had expected income to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.5 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The Commerce Department also said personal sending climbed by 0.3 percent in December following a 0.4 percent increase in November, with the growth matching expectations.

Excluding price changes, personal spending inched up by 0.1 percent in December after rising by 0.3 percent in November.

Revised data released by the University of Michigan showed U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly improved in the month of January compared to the previously reported deterioration.

The consumer sentiment index for January was upwardly revised to 99.8 from the preliminary reading of 99.1. The index is now up from the final December reading of 99.3.

The upward revision came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the consumer sentiment index to be unrevised at 99.1.

Sector News

Semiconductor stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 3.6 percent to its lowest closing level in well over a month.

The semiconductor index has plunged by 9.4 percent since reaching a record intraday high during trading last Friday.

Significant weakness was also visible among energy stocks, as the price of crude oil saw further downside amid concerns about demand. Crude for March delivery slid $0.58 to $51.56 a barrel.

Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Oil Index and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index plummeted by 3.3 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.

Steel, transportation, financial and chemical stocks also saw considerable weakness, while retail stocks bucked the downtrend following upbeat earnings news from Amazon (AMZN).

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both tumbled by 1.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries extended the upward trend seen over the past several sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 3.8 basis points to 1.520 percent.

Looking Ahead

While news regarding the coronavirus outbreak will continue to attract attention next week, traders are also likely to keep an eye on the monthly jobs data as well as reports on manufacturing and service sector activity.

Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), Clorox (CLX), Ford (F), Disney (DIS), General Motors (GM), Qualcomm (QCOM), Kellogg (K), Twitter (TWTR), and Uber (UBER) are also among the companies due to report their quarterly results next week.