Stock market news live: Stocks slump as coronavirus death toll rises – Yahoo Finance

Global equity markets slumped Monday as fears over the deadly coronavirus flared further. The sell-off kicked off a busy week for potentially market-moving earnings and economic data releases – including U.S. fourth-quarter GDP and a Federal Reserve rate decision – on a volatile note.

11:30 a.m. ET: Casper’s lowers expectations for upcoming IPO

According to a regulatory filing, online mattress retailer Casper is seeking to raise $159 million in its initial public offering, with an estimated range of $17-19 per share.

Bloomberg notes that amount would value the company near $774 million, a substantial discount to its previous estimates of $1.1 billion, and a reflection of the brutal treatment unicorns have received at the hands of fickle investors.

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11:00 a.m. ET: Stocks on track for biggest one-day drop of the year

The three major U.S. equity indices held lower as the trading session rolled on. The S&P 500, down some 1.5%, was on pace for its biggest one-day decline since at least October 8, when the blue-chip index settled lower by 1.56%.

Declines in the 30-stock Dow were led by shares of American Express (AXP) and Intel (INTC). The losses briefly dragged the index into negative territory for the year-to-date at the lows of the session.

Here were the main moves in markets, as of 11:00 a.m. ET:

• S&P 500 (^GSPC): -1.53% or -50.53 points to 3,244.94

• Dow (^DJI): -1.53% or -443.58 points to 28,546.15

• Nasdaq (^IXIC): -1.9% or -177.42 points to 9,137.90

• Crude oil (CL=F): -2.16% or -$1.17 to $53.02 a barrel

• Gold (GC=F): +0.66% or +$10.30 to $1,582.20 per ounce

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10:17 a.m. ET: Drug developer stocks surge as coronavirus cases rise

Shares of U.S. drug-makers including NanoViricides (NNVC), Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO), Novavax (NVAX) and Moderna (MRNA) each jumped as trader considered the impact developments by these companies could have in stemming the spread of the coronavirus.

NanoViricides is a researcher of therapies for viruses including bird flu and HIV. Inovio, Novavax and Moderna have each said they were working on developing coronavirus vaccines. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations had said last week that it would grant funding to Inovio and Moderna for their coronavirus vaccine work.

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10:00 a.m. ET: New home sales unexpectedly decline in December

Sales of new homes unexpectedly fell by 0.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 694,000 in December, according to the Census Bureau. Consensus economists had expected new home sales to rise 1.5% over last month to 730,000, according to Bloomberg data.

Each of the West and Midwest regions saw new-home sales rise between November and December. The South, however, saw sales slow to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 347,000, down from 410,000 in November. New home sales in the Northeast also slowed modestly.

November’s new home sales were downwardly revised to reflect a decline of 1.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 697,000, versus a rise to 719,000 previously reported.

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9:44 a.m. ET: ‘Investors are selling first and asking questions later’

Though rising concerns over the coronavirus are hammering global risk assets at the start of this week, many experts are suggesting the impact to markets will fade.

“Investors are selling first and asking questions later,” Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance, said in an email. “The Chinese economy – and possibly the world economy – will take a hit in the short run and lower prices are a rational response to the increasing spread of the coronavirus.”

“However, over the medium term this will likely prove to be a buying opportunity – just not at the very beginning of the outbreak,” he added. “To use SARS as an example, during the 5-month period starting in mid-November 2002 until mid-March 2003, the S&P 500 dropped 12% before bottoming and then finishing that year 19% higher than where it started.”

A similar phenomenon occurred in 1997 amid an outbreak of avian influenza in Hong Kong. That year, the S&P 500 rose 31%.

“The spread of the Wuhan coronavirus has been a big theme so far this year, but investors should be wary of over-extrapolating its implications for financial assets,” Glenmede strategists Jason Pride and Michael Reynolds wrote in a note . “In fact, markets have largely shrugged off epidemic scares in the past.”

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9:31 a.m. ET: U.S. stocks open sharply lower amid coronavirus fears

The S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq sank Monday morning as mounting fears over the deadly coronavirus sent risk assets reeling.

Tech and energy stocks led declines in the S&P 500, with West Texas intermediate crude oil prices down 2.5% to extend last week’s declines. Airline and cruise line stocks including Delta (DAL), American Airlines (AAL) and Royal Caribbean (RCL) each extended losses from early trading.

Here were the main moves in markets, as of 9:31 a.m. ET:

• S&P 500 (^GSPC): -1.6% or -52.7 points to 3,242.77

• Dow (^DJI): -1.54% or -447.3 points to 28,542.43

• Nasdaq (^IXIC): -2.13% or -198.8 points to 9,116.49

• Crude oil (CL=F): -2.51% or -$1.36 to $52.83 a barrel

• Gold (GC=F): +0.73% or +$11.40 to $1,583.30 per ounce

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7:40 a.m. ET: Rising coronavirus death toll sparks global equity sell-off

Contracts on the three major U.S. stock indices were each off by more than 1% in early trading as a rising number of confirmed cases of the deadly coronavirus sent global markets reeling.

At least 80 deaths have been attributed to the coronavirus to date, according to China’s National Health Commission. Each of these deaths took place in China, where a total of 2,744 cases have so far been confirmed and nearly 6,000 more suspected cases were being monitored. The U.S. has had five confirmed cases to date of the virus.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei index, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 and German DAX were each off by more than 2% Monday morning New York time. Companies in the travel sector including airlines and lodging services were hit amid fears that the disease would slow global travel. Luxury goods companies and commodity stocks also declined sharply, given China’s position as the world’s largest luxury goods market and a major demand center for raw materials, respectively.

Stock exchanges in Hong Kong, China, South Korea and Australia are all closed Monday in observance of holidays.

Here were the main moves during the pre-market session, as of 7:40 a.m. ET:

• S&P futures (ES=F): 3,252.00, down 41.5 points or 1.26%

• Dow futures (YM=F): 28,555.00, down 378 points or 1.31%

• Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 8,995.5, down 149 points or 1.63%

• Crude oil (CL=F): $52.81 per barrel, down $1.38 or 2.55%

• Gold (GC=F): $1,580.80 per ounce, up $8.90 or 0.57%

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