Coronavirus Fears Drive US Markets Down More Than 600 Points

The US government on Friday afternoon declared the Wuhan coronavirus a public health emergency, just a day after the World Health Organization made a similar declaration, sending stock markets on Friday plunging by more than 600 points.

US stocks closed on Friday registering their greatest losses of the year, with the Dow Jones down 603 points – a 2.09% fall –  to 28,255.76. The S&P 500 fared no better, declining by 58.15 points to 3,225.51, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 148 points to 9150.54.

Analysts noted the sharp declines reflect growing anxieties about world trade as the coronavirus epidemic that broke out in China’s Hubei province late last year is found in more and more countries, and governments respond by arresting trade and travel. On Thursday, the Russian government announced the imminent closure of its border with China, and air carriers in several countries have voluntarily suspended flights to China.

China’s National Health Commission confirmed on Friday 9,692 cases of the coronavirus in the country, with 213 deaths, exceeding the number of infections of the 2002-2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, a related disease that also originated in China. Hubei Province is locked down, with travel in and out of the region severely restricted, especially in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people. Engineers have been working around the clock to build a new hospital, which they promise will be completed a little more than a week after beginning.

Sourse: sputniknews.com