Wall Street Spirals Down – China Virus Affects U.S. Stocks

China virus is already in America, causing the mayhem on Wall Street. After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention verified the first U.S. case of the coronavirus, American future indexes began to decrease. During the last days, three leading U.S. stocks fell from their record highs. At the same time ending their best one-week growth period in months.

As the virus outbreak preceded the Lunar new year in China, travel-related stocks suffered the most damage. United Airlines dropped by 4.4%. The NYSE Arca Airline index also dwindled to 2.8%, with Carnival Corp not very far away, lowering 2.3%.

Las Vegas Sands Corp and Wynn Resorts Ltd, Casino and hotel operators, lost 5.4% and 6.1% during this session. Both of them lead the significant operations in China. United States Steel Corp fell 5.2%, as it also has a big exposure to China.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 152.06 points, or 0.52%, to 29,196.04, while the Nasdaq Composite decreased to 18.14 points, or 0.19%, to 9,370.81 and the S&P 500 lost 8.82 points, or 0.26%, to 3,320.8.

As the stocks continue to tumble, the International Monetary Fund lowered its global economic growth forecast. Charlie Ripley, the senior market strategist for Allianz Investment Management in Minneapolis, noted that risks never diminish. He thinks the coronavirus outbreak is a good reminder of that fact, causing the investors to pay better attention in the coming months.

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Oppenheimer upgraded the shares, which caused the Costco Wholesale Corp to advance 2.8%. After three brokers increased their price targets for the chipmaker’s shares, Intel Corp also rose 1.6%.

The S&P 500 experienced 89 new 52-week highs and two new lows; Forty-six of its companies reported their growth, with 71.7% exceeding the analyst’s expectations. It seems the fourth-quarter earnings season remains mainly successful. The Nasdaq Composite sustained more damage, with 140 new highs and 37 new lows.