US markets end deeply in red as spread of coronavirus quashes buying sentiment

28 Jan 2020 Evaluate

Extending the notable pullback seen over the course of the previous session, the US markets ended lower with cut of over one and half percent on Monday, amid growing worries about the economic implications of a rising death tolls and growing infections from a fast-moving virus in China. The coronavirus injected markets investors with fresh worries after China extended this week’s Lunar New Year holiday and took more drastic measures to halt the spread of the illness. As of Monday, the death count rose to more than 80, and the number of those infected neared 3,000 confirmed cases. In the US, at least 110 people were identified as under investigation for the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while a handful of infections were reported in other countries, such as France and Japan. The continued spread of the coronavirus weighed on travel, tourism and hospitality stocks as well as companies with major exposure to China.

On the economic data front, new home sales unexpectedly showed a modest decrease in the month of December, according to a report released by the Commerce Department. The report said new home sales fell by 0.4 percent to an annual rate of 694,000 in December from a downwardly revised 697,000 in November. The drop surprised participants, who had expected new home sales to surge up by 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 730,000 in December from the 719,000 originally reported for the previous month. Revised data also showed new home sales slumped by 1.1 percent in November compared to the previously reported 1.3 percent jump. The unexpected decrease was largely due to a steep drop in new home sales in the South, which plunged by 15.4 percent to a rate of 347,000. New home sales in the Northeast also plummeted by 11.8 percent, while new home sales spiked by 10.1 percent in the Midwest and by 31.0 percent in the West.

Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 453.93 points or 1.57 percent to 28535.80, Nasdaq dropped 175.6 points or 1.89 percent to 9139.31 and S&P 500 was down by 51.84 points or 1.57 percent to 3243.63.

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