» Dow falls 1,191 points, worst point drop in history,
Stocks took an early nosedive on Wall Street on Thursday before recovering much of the ground they lost as investors struggle to anticipate how wide the economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak will be.
The losses extended a weeklong rout that has brought the S&P 500 8.8% below the record high it set just a week ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average cut its loss to 300 points by the early afternoon after being down as many as 960 earlier as investors saw some buying opportunities.
More companies including Microsoft and Budweiser maker InBev are warning their results will be hurt.
Bond yields edged higher, reversing a sharp drop in the early going, as demand for ultrasafe assets waned somewhat. The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 1.32%. Gold prices also fell after rising earlier.
The S&P 500 was down 0.9% as of 1:05 p.m. Eastern time after being down as much as 3.5% earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 309 points, or 1.1%, to 26,650. The Nasdaq fell 1.2%.
The virus has now infected more than 82,000 people globally and is worrying governments with its rapid spread beyond the epicenter of China.
In California, health officials say a new coronavirus case could be the first in the U.S. that has no known connection to travel abroad or another known case, a possible sign the virus is spreading in a community.
Japan will close schools nationwide to help control the spread of the new virus. Saudi Arabia banned foreign pilgrims from entering the kingdom to visit Islam’s holiest sites. Italy has become the center of the outbreak in Europe, with the spread threatening the financial and industrial centers of that nation.
The price of crude oil fell 3.2%. The price has been falling sharply as investors anticipate that demand for energy will wane as the economy slows.
At their heart, stock prices rise and fall with the profits that companies make. And Wall Street’s expectations for profit growth are sliding away. Apple and Microsoft, two of the world’s biggest companies, have already said their sales this quarter will feel the economic effects of the virus.