US Dow in Free-Fall, Plunges 357 Points Amid Coronavirus-Fueled Sell-Offs

US stocks closed the week on Friday with another loss, this time more than 300 points in the red as traders experienced yet another day of massive sell-offs brought on by concerns of the COVID-19 coronavirus’s impact on the US and global economies.

Bringing the week’s grand total losses to more then 3,500 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 357.28 points. The S&P 500 plummeted by 24.54 and the Nasdaq Composite posted a gain of .89 points.

Friday’s coronavirus-fueled losses further plunged US stocks into a correction territory – a 10% drop from recent highs – and placed the market on track for its worst drop since the 2008 financial crisis.

Overnight, both New Zealand and Nigeria confirmed their very first COVID-19 cases, and South Korea registered 571 new cases. China also updated its figures and revealed that 327 new cases were recorded.

“The timing of this was just the worst with respect to investor sentiment being elevated,” Doug Ramsey, chief investment officer at The Leuthold Group, told CNBC, referring to the coronavirus outbreak. “I’m not sure that the market has really priced in the potential economic impact of this.”

In recent days, coronavirus fears have prompted several companies, including tech giants Apple, Microsoft and PayPal, to issue earnings and revenue notices regarding downgraded production forecasts.

At present, more than 83,800 coronavirus cases have been confirmed, according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering. Over 78,800 of the cases have been confirmed in mainland China, followed by South Korea with 2,337 cases. A total of 2,867 deaths from the virus have been officially documented.

Sourse: sputniknews.com